‘America’s Next Top Model’ alum Yaya DaCosta addresses the backlash surrounding the show and Tyra Banks with grace and forgiveness
America’s Next Top Model star, Yaya DaCosta, reflects on her relationship with Tyra Banks and says she’s finally “free.”
Model and actress Yaya DaCosta doesn’t harbor any ill feelings towards Tyra Banks for her experience on the hit competition show “America’s Next Top Model” (ANTM). Recently, DaCosta and the ANTM creator crossed paths at Essence’s “Black Women in Hollywood” ceremony –– and it was not as awkward as one would expect.
Over the past few years, ANTM has faced backlash as resurfaced clips sparked conversations on social media. Many former contestants have since spoken out about their experiences, some even appearing on Vice TV’s docuseries “Dark Side of Reality TV” to shed light on its more problematic aspects.
Like others, DaCosta has acknowledged the show’s controversies, citing “manipulative editing,” the “weaponization of contestants’ insecurities,” and how it “catalyzed body dysmorphia and eating disorders.” While she admits some of the most “shocking” moments from her time on cycle three never aired, she has moved on and forgiven Banks.
“When you’re continuing to blame someone for something, you’re giving your power away,” DaCosta explained in an Instagram reel. “And I learned that the practice of forgiveness is for me. It’s for me to be in my power, to know that my life is something I’m creating with every choice, with every dream, with every daydream, with every journal entry, with every conversation, I’m speaking my life into existence. So if I keep telling the story of blame, then I’m refusing to take ownership and refusing to accept that everything that happens in life is not happening to me, but for me.”
DaCosta’s reflections came in response to Banks’ speech at Essence “Black Women in Hollywood,” where the supermodel addressed ANTM’s legacy and its criticism while accepting the Luminary Spotlight Honor.
“Over 20 years ago, I created a show called “America’s Next Top Model.” And you guys have no idea how hard we fought to bring the diversity to that television show at a time when it didn’t exist,” the 51-year-old supermodel said. “Did we get it right? Hell no. I said some dumb s–t. But I refuse to have my legacy be about some stuff linked together on the internet when there were 24 cycles of changing the world. And I am so excited that I, and so many of us, have opened that door for others to follow.”
While both fans and women at the ceremony looked to see DaCosta’s reaction to Banks’ speech, the actress and ANTM alum wants everyone to know that she and Banks are “good.” Behind the scenes, she ran into Banks in the event’s photo studio, where the two had an unspoken moment of understanding.
“When I saw her, I was genuinely excited, and I walked over, and we had a beautiful conversation,” DaCosta said, acknowledging how there was a time when she would have felt differently if she had seen Banks at an event. “No, there was no explicit apology, but you could see in that [speech] she’s sick of people every once in a while bringing up these controversial clips from the show.”
“And not for nothing, some of the same people who are making these little videos and commentaries about ‘oh my god, can you believe that happened,’ back then, were watching it, and laughing and not really seeing anything wrong with it,” she continued.
Society has evolved since the show’s premiere in 2003. However, when looking back on the show, DaCosta reminds fans to reflect on their role in the controversy as the show became widely successful because of it’s audience who she says “was right up there on the judging table with Miss Jay, Tyra, Nigel, all of them…judging.”
“When I hear this speech, what I hear is courage,” she noted. “It takes courage to get up in front of people and finally say what’s been on her mind and heart for so many years and insist on recognition for the positive, and not just the negative.”
At the end of their reunion behind the scenes, DaCosta says she gave Banks a hug, specifically “a hug you give when words don’t suffice.”
“Y’all, I held that woman. When it was time for the hug to be over, I held some more. I took a deep breath because I wanted her to feel what it feels like to fully be forgiven, appreciated, and loved,” the ANTM alum explained. “Something so magical happens when you just make the choice to let something go. And then it’s gone, and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, I’m free.’ Because I’m free, I want y’all to be free.”
The comments of DaCosta’s video are filled with mixed reactions from fans and support from industry stars like Bethann Hardison, who wrote: “Good for you Yaya !!! Because I know better as well. I, too, have seen the other side. Sometimes for selfish reasons, you must let it go and know that it’s for the best. I send you love and respect, as always,” and ANTM alumni Eva Marcille who added: “I love you from head to toe! You have always been a woman of such charisma and eloquence when you speak. Your maturity and your desire to be so aligned in your purpose illuminates everything you do. I love love love this post. So beautiful Sis.”
At the heart of it all, DaCosta hopes others choose “freedom, compassion, love, and kindness” over resentment.
“Forgiveness is not for other people, it’s for us. We don’t need an apology in order to give that to ourselves or even the other person,” she concluded.
More About:Lifestyle
