14 DAY TRIAL // Just recently, an Australian television show with a tradition of many years was singled out for allowing a group of white entertainers to perform a skit in blackface. Shortly after, the French Vogue also came under serious fire, as it had a model do the same for an entire spread. Now, it’s Tyra Banks’ turn to cause a stir, as she just had the remaining girls of America’s Next Top Model take part in a bi-racial photoshoot, MSNBC reports.
The idea of the shoot might as well have been a good one, but whether it was also appropriate is an entirely different matter, media in the US is saying. According to the aforementioned publication, Tyra had the six girls pose in different outfits and makeup that transformed them into different races. The fact that the models in question seemed completely oblivious of the countries and race they were supposed to represent only made matters worse to the media, as it was interpreted as mockery at their expense.
“During Wednesday night’s ANTM episode on The CW, Banks took the remaining six young women of cycle 13 to Hawaii, where she took pictures of the models after they were transformed into different races. Tyra told bleached-blond Erin Wagner she was going to be ‘Tibetan, like the Dali Lama, and Egyptian;’ Southern belle Laura Kirkpatrick was put into makeup to look ‘Mexican and G;’ Jennifer An, who is Korean, was told she was going to be ‘Botswanan and Polynesianl’ African-American Sundai Love was made to look ‘Moroccan and Russian;’ redhead Nicole Fox was ‘Malagasy and Japanese,’ while blond Brittany Markert was put into makeup to look ‘Native American and East Indian.’” MSNBC writes of the shoot in question.
“While the only things that seemed to confuse the lithe models on the show were particulars about the countries, nationalities and races they were representing, some members of the press are calling foul. E! News asked whether the shoot was ‘Racy or Racist?’ noting the girls were ‘coated in creams to darken their skin tone.’ Over at Entertainment Weekly, a writer noted that the models acted ‘like there’s nothing socially charged at all about race-as-costume.’ And AOL TV ran a recap under the headline ‘Tyra Banks Puts ‘Top Models’ In Blackface. When Did This Become OK?’” the same media outlet adds about the reaction the shoot generated.
However, while this shoot might be the most “controversial” yet, MSNBC explains, it’s not the first – nor will it be the last, most likely. America’s Next Top Model has changed the models’ tone of skin before, as fans must know. A spokesperson for the show has not been immediately available for comment on this.