"Tearing girls apart just to walk across the stage as plus sized": Netizens debate as Tyra Banks makes runway comeback after retirement 

Former model and TV personality Tyra Banks recently made a runway comeback after retiring in 2005. On Tuesday, October 15, 2024, the America's Next Top Model creator walked the ramp at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, her 10th for the brand.

The 50-year-old rocked a black bustier with crystal embellishing paired with black leggings. She finished her look with a black and silver cape and heels. A version of Native New Yorker played in the background as Banks took the stage.

As news of Tyra Bank's runway comeback made news, internet users were quick to react. One remarked it was hypocritical for her to walk the ramp as a "plus-sized" model after she spent years criticizing others for the same.

"The fact that Tyra Banks spent all those years tearing girls apart just to walk across the stage as plus-sized. LOL"

A comment reacting to the news (Image via X/ @RTaylornicole)

Netizens continued to call out the former model, stating she would have bullied herself 19 years ago. Here are some comments seen under @itsKenBarbie's post on X:

"Seeing tyra embrace her weight is nice the crazy part is that Tyra would have bullied this girl 19 years ago," one wrote.

"Had a model gone to her show back then looking the way she does right now, she wouldn't let her stay or accepted her. She looks messy idc," @honeybeytargII stated.

"And she's stunning!!!!, another wrote.

However, others argued against the criticism, stating Banks was always supportive of plus-sized women on her show. They commented that the former model is 50 years old with children and has long since retired from modeling.

"Actually no. It was Janice Dickinson and that Latino guy that was always harping on weight. Tyra was always supportive of the plus sized girls," @TheEmpressTiff argued.

"She’s also 50 and well out of her modeling career. She doesn’t need to watch her weight anymore lol. So even if this was valid criticism, it still wouldn’t apply to Tyra now," another reasoned.

"And she was very blunt and real with them explaining that it was gonna be a lot harder for them to find success," a fan continued.

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Tyra Banks announced the return of Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in an Instagram post in August with Gigi Hadid

Tyra Banks began her career as a model when she was just 15. She has walked the ramp at fashion shows for big brands like Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, and Marc Jacobs. She has also appeared on the covers of magazines like Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Elle.

Banks was the first black woman to appear on the cover of GQ and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. In 1997, she won the VH1 award for Supermodel of the Year and became a Victoria's Secret Angel (models under contract with the said brand). Tyra Banks walked the ramp for the lingerie brand nine times before she retired.

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is an annual promotional event promoting the brand's line. It ran from 1995 to 2018 before it was canceled due to its organizer, Edward Razek's insensitive comments toward transwomen and plus-size models.

In August, Tyra Banks and Gigi Hadid, another Victoria's Secret Angel, teased the return of the fashion show in an Instagram post.

It featured a sketch soundtracked by Chappell Roan's Femininomenon and showed Hadid getting starstruck by Banks, who handed her an invite to the show. The post came months after the brand first announced the iconic fashion show's return. Their IG post from May read:

"We’ve read the comments and heard you. The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is BACK and will reflect who we are today, plus everything you know and love—the glamour, runway, wings, musical entertainment, and more! Stay tuned…it only gets more iconic from here. #VSFashionShow"

In September 2024, Tyra Banks once again appeared on the brand's Instagram. She admitted that returning to the show felt "crazy," adding that she never thought she would be back. She continued to recall her last appearance on the runway for Victoria's Secret.

In light of the development, an old video from Tyra Bank's show America’s Next Top Model began circulating on the internet. The clip, taken from the first season of the reality series, features the judges discussing a contestant, Robin Manning's (a size 6 model) body shape.

Former model Janice Dickinson can be seen saying, "The next ‘America’s Top Model’ is not a plus-sized model." While Tyra Banks remarked:

"Yes, Robin would represent a plus-size model. One problem I do have with Robin, I think on the top she's not plus-sized, and on the bottom she is."

It is to be noted that a plus-sized model, Whitney Thompson, did take home the title of America’s Next Top Mode in 2008.

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Tyra Banks has not publicly reacted to the development.