This week, Tyra Banks hit the airwaves as the host of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars Season 29 and fans were less happy about her performance. But some say the deck was stacked against her from the start.
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Back in July, loyal fans of the show were outraged when the network announced that hosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews were being ousted and replaced with the former America’s Next Top Model creator.
Fan favorite and industry vet Bergeron had hosted the show since its debut in 2005 and Andrews was brought on as co-host in 2014.
“ABC opted not to pick up Tom’s option. In the fine tradition of Hollywood cliches, they’re ‘Going in a different direction,’” a statement from Bergeron’s reps provided to Fox News read at the time.
Banks has previously acknowledged that her predecessors leave behind big shoes to fill. But many who tuned in to Monday’s Season 29 premiere took to Twitter to voice the opinion that she was the wrong person to fill those shoes.
“Can Tyra Banks be the first person voted off, thanks! #dwts,” one user wrote.
“Tyra banks has ruined dancing with the stars..she tries to be funny but keeps falling flat…#bringtomback #DancingWiththeStars,” posted another.
Earlier this month Banks responded to claims that being a Black woman is what landed the supermodel her latest gig.
During a new interview with Glamour, the 46-year-old revealed her feelings were hurt when she learned people believed she was chosen as a token Black woman to make the network look diverse amid national racial tension.
“It actually hurts my feelings a bit that people think that I was hired because I’m a Black woman. [The show] reached out to me many, many months ago before any of the [racial] unrest happened,” Banks said to the magazine.
“I knew that there’s a lot of responsibility coming into an institution. Tom Bergeron is a genius host, a comedic host. I had to make sure that I could bring something new, [while] respecting what he’s already done. And that could I really bring my audience to the show,” she continued.
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“I’m just going to be myself in terms of personality. What will be the most fake is me walking out on that dance floor with the wackiest, craziest outfits with amazing hair and makeup. That’s not me—that’s a whole creation. But what’s coming out of my mouth and personality is going to be who you’re talking to now.”
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