What Tyra Banks really yelled to ANTM’s Tiffany Richardson that never made it to air
There was more to the shocking exchange!Tyra Banks yelling at ANTM contestant Tiffany Richardson has long become an internet meme that continues to be referenced.
However, as revealed in the three-part Netflix documentary, Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, there was more from the exchange that never made the final cut…
Why did Tyra Banks yell at Tiffany Richardson?
During Episode 7 of Cycle 4, titled The Girl Who Pushes Tyra Over the Edge, Tyra shocked the remaining contestants by announcing that there would be a double elimination.
Unfortunately for Tiffany and Rebecca Epley, their time was up. But how did they come to this decision?
For that week’s pre-evaluation challenge, the contestants were asked to read a passage packed with fashion industry terminology, putting both their improvisation skills and fashion knowledge to the test. Tiffany barely participated, quickly giving up on the exercise. Tyra made her disappointment clear and said she would go home if she didn’t take part.
That lack of effort placed Tiffany in the bottom two alongside Rebecca, whose high-fashion look impressed the panel but whose photo performance had fallen short. The judges ultimately agreed that the remaining contestants seemed to have lost their hunger and determination and needed a serious wake-up call. In a shocking twist, Tyra revealed a blank photo, eliminating both Rebecca and Tiffany on the spot.
The two said their goodbyes, hugging the other contestants. Rebecca was visibly emotional, tearfully embracing the group, while Tiffany tried to lighten the mood, smiling and asking, “Why are you guys looking all sad?” As the farewell unfolded, Tyra appeared increasingly frustrated.
She then called both women back before officially dismissing them. While Tyra praised Rebecca for showing genuine emotion, she reprimanded Tiffany for what she viewed as an inappropriate, joking attitude.
Tyra vs. Tiffany
When Tyra addressed Tiffany, she didn’t hold back.
“Tiffany, I’m extremely disappointed in you,” she began. “This is a joke to you. You’ve been through anger management, you’ve been through your grandmother having her lights switched off to buy you a swimsuit for this comeptition and you go over there and you joke and you laugh.”
Tyra continued: “This is serious to these girls,” referring to the remaining contestants.
Tiffany responded, stating that “looks can be deceiving”, insisting that she was “hurt” by the situation. While getting emotional, she added that she is “sick of crying about stuff I can’t change” and “sick of being disappointed”.
Tyra shook her head and disagreed, declaring she would “stand up” and “take control of your destiny” if she was “disappointed”. She reminded that Tiffany had a chance to win and that America was “rooting for her”, slamming her for her “defeatist attitude”.
‘We were all rooting for you’
Tiffany firmly hit back, telling Tyra: “I don’t have a bad attitude. Maybe I am angry inside, I’ve been through stuff, so I’m angry.”
Tyra began to speak over her, repeatedly telling her to be quiet before shouting: “STOP IT!”
“I have never in my life yelled at a girl like this. When my mother yells like this it’s because she loves me. I was rooting for you, we were all rooting for you! How dare you!” she continued.
“Learn something from this! When you go to bed at night, you lay there and you take responsibility for yourself,” Banks continued. “Because nobody’s going to take responsibility for you. You rolling your eyes… it’s because you’ve heard it all before.”
She added: “You don’t know where the hell I come from. You have no idea what I’ve been through, but I’m not a victim. I grow from it and I learn. Take responsibility for yourself!”
Tiffany walked out of the elimination room, and she packed her things, and left.
‘I knew I went too far’
In the Netflix doc, Jay Manuel admitted that there was more that viewers never saw.
“There was a lot more that was really said,” he revealed. “Some of the things that were said were not well-intentioned.”
“I will probably never repeat the lines that were actually said in that room that day,” he added.
Judge Nolé Marin noted the show had “all the lawyers on set” following the bombshell scene.
Tyra admitted: “I knew I went too far.” However, what did she allegedly say that was so bad?
What else did Tyra really yell at Tiffany?
In a 2017 interview with Buzzfeed, Tiffany revealed that what viewers saw on television was only a fraction of what actually happened.
She described the confrontation as “1,000 times worse” in real life. Though she was initially reluctant to go into detail, she eventually shared that she remembers Tyra harshly shouting at her, “You can go back to your house and sleep on your mattress on the floor with your baby,” in front of the judges, contestants, and production crew.
In previous episodes, Tiffany vulnerably opened up about a lack of money and her living situation.
Richardson declined to discuss what else may have been left on the cutting-room floor. However, she admitted that particular remark lingered with her long after the cameras stopped rolling.
Rebecca admitted she didn’t remember the “entire wrath of Tyra”, but she said it seemed like Banks “went above and beyond to break Tiffany down”.
Fellow contestant Brittany Brower agreed with Rebecca. She also told Buzzfeed: “It was definitely harsh … almost like Tyra wanted her to be devastated when she got eliminated, and when Tiffany was not acting that way, it’s like she just lost it. There was a lot more anger there, especially in the beginning.”
