14 DAY TRIAL // Whitney Thompson, the winner of season 10 of the massively popular show America’s Next Top Model, hosted by Tyra Banks, has agreed to shed it all for a series of ads for body acceptance and against eating disorders.
Though she’s not the first plus-size model on the show, Thompson is the first to win the much coveted prize and Bank’s approval that she’s America’s next top model, as the name of the show says.
Whitney, together with another plus-size model, have agreed to pose for a campaign that is meant to tell women all over the world that they should learn to love their body no matter their size, the Huffington Post says.
At the same time, in an accompanying press statement, Thompson has also addressed the recent controversy regarding Tyra Banks and her reaction to an incredibly thin model who appeared on the show a couple of weeks ago.
“The winner of America’s Next Top Model season 10, plus-size model Whitney Thompson, has stripped down for Love Your Body Day and spoken out about the recent video showcasing a Top Model contestant’s tiny waist,” the Post says.
“Tyra supports women of all sizes as long as they are healthy. I do not fault her for her reaction to seeing such a tiny waist. She had a similar reaction to seeing [contestant] Toccara [Jones]’ enormous breasts. Tyra remains a leading figure in the fight for body equality in the fashion industry,” the model says of Tyra’s reaction.
That is to say, by saying she was surprised by how thin the aspiring model was and by admitting that she did like her face, Tyra was not openly encouraging women to starve themselves to look like this, as her critics claimed.
If she had, Thompson would probably not be publicly defending her – at least, not when she’s so involved in sending the message to all women that beauty knows no such considerations as size or weight.
“As the celebrity host of the Hollywood Chapter of the National Organizations for Women’s 5th annual Love Your Body Day on October 23, 2010, Whitney Thompson has taken it all off and posed alongside the event’s creator Chenese Lewis,” the Post further writes.
Two photos from the campaign have just ended up online – and they’re both stunning.
“Thompson also serves as an ambassador for the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) and Lewis acts as an ambassador for the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA),” the Post goes on to say.