Paulina Porizkova reunites with Tyra Banks after past ANTM beef: She's 'a lady'
Sorry, Jade; It might be America’s Next Top Best Friend after all.
Following her previously publicized beef with America’s Next Top Model creator and host, Tyra Banks, supermodel Paulina Porizkova — who served on the long-running modeling competition series’ judging panel for three cycles between 2008 and 2009 — has atoned for her self-described “bitching” on the set of the show.
“Tyra Banks. I have learned a very important lesson from this woman,” the 54-year-old wrote on Instagram, captioning a photo of herself posing with Banks last Saturday at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Celebrates 2019 issue launch in Miami. “Way back, when we worked on her show America’s Next Top Model, we didn’t always see eye to eye. But while I was happily bitching to anyone who’d listen, she kept her cool, and didn’t stoop to my level.”
During a candid interview with Craig Ferguson on The Late Late Show in 2009, Porizkova claimed she was “fired” from America’s Next Top Model over the phone because she was the metaphorical “fat” that needed to be “cut” from the show. Later that year, Banks declined to answer a question about Porizkova’s claims during an interview with Nightline‘s Cynthia McFadden.
Now, Porizkova has seemingly left her grievances behind to praise her peer, who recently came out of modeling retirement to cover Sports Illustrated’s 2019 swimsuit issue 22 years after she became the first black woman to appear on the front of the annual publication.
“Tyra is many things, sure, mother-mogul-model, but she is also a lady,” Porizkova’s post continued. “Thanks for the lesson, Tyra. And congratulations on making history- again!”
While promoting her most recent movie — the highly anticipated Life-Size 2 — last year, Banks told EW she’s considering one more season of America’s Next Top Model (which premiered in 2003 and concluded its 24th and most recent cycle in 2018) that might involve a few fan-favorite models from past seasons.
“We’ll see! We’re trying to figure that out right now. I would probably like to close it out. I’d like to do it on a nice even number and do something really creative and interesting and then peace out,” Banks said when asked about the possibility of launching a 25th cycle, adding that she’s open to doing an all-star edition to close out the show on its new network home, VH1. “A lot of them, coming back, they’d get a new lease on today’s social media. A lot of the [earlier] girls didn’t have that access…. I would love Toccara, Eva, Jade, Shandi, [and] Adrianne.”
VH1 has yet to make a formal announcement on America’s Next Top Model‘s future. Until it does, read Porizkova’s note on her relationship with Banks above.
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