14 DAY TRIAL // It’s never a good idea not to be on Tyra Banks’ good side, but lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret doesn’t seem to care, according to a new report. When Tyra, who is one of the original Angels, lobbied to get a spot on the annual VS show, she was unceremoniously turned down.
Moreover, claims Radar Online, she was told that she was too old to be on the VS catwalk anymore.
Considering that Tyra was an Angel between 1997 and 2005 and is now one of the few models to be able to boast of the title “media mogul” to their resume, she has every right to be “furious,” as insiders familiar with the situation describe her state of mind right now.
Apparently, this chat with Victoria’s Secret occurred before last December’s annual show but, for some reason, word of it is getting out only now. Spies claim that Tyra herself saw to negotiations, hoping that this would translate into instant acceptance to be on the show.
“[She] was dying to appear on the runways as a surprise in the most recent CBS Victoria Secret Fashion Show, but was rejected by the brand and the network, despite her long affiliation with the company. She’s outraged and is threatening to never to work with Victoria’s Secret again,” says an insider.
Asked for a reason why she wasn’t being allowed back, she was served with the “excuse” that “the audience likes to see the newest models, not the ‘veterans,’ on the runway during the VS TV show.”
“Tyra doesn’t want to make a public spectacle out of the snub, because it would make all the parties involved look bad. But she isn’t happy,” adds the insider.
Unhappy as she (reportedly) is, Tyra is choosing to focus on her campaign on real beauty and spreading the message to young, impressionable women that the beauty they’re exposed to in the media is not real.
Just recently, on the occasion of the upcoming Flawsome Ball, which she organized through her TZONE Foundation, Tyra spoke about her struggles growing up and how she was, in turn, deemed too thin and then too fat by the fashion industry and people in general.
She concluded that, as a woman who knew “the pain of somebody who's too thin and the pain of somebody that people say is too big,” she was perfect to be the voice telling women that flaws are awesome, so they too can be “flawsome.” Tyra has a knack for making up words like that.