This America’s Next Top Model alum has Tyra Banks’ back.
As you may know, the reality show host has come under fire after another former contestant, Sarah Hartshorne, revealed the dismal payment contestants received on ANTM. Considering Tyra was not just a host, but also an executive producer of the show, some fans unsurprisingly pinned blame for the issue on the supermodel.
But Season 3 contestant Toccara Jones had a different take on the subject. She told TMZ:
“There’s no canceling Tyra.”
She went on:
“This is the modeling world. She didn’t create this. She just showed y’all … she just became the face of it, which is great. And you know what, you’re gonna get some good and you’re gonna get some bad. It comes with the territory.”
The 40-year-old added:
“I love Tyra. She’s still thriving. … And people are still talking about the franchise, here we are still speaking about it.”
But what about Sarah’s allegations concerning the show? Well, Toccara basically confirmed them, although she had a different perspective:
“First of all, we didn’t get paid anything. It’s a contest, so there’s no payment. I mean, when do people… get paid to be in a contest? The whole purpose of a contest is to win a prize, you know what I’m saying? It’s for the exposure.”
She acknowledged the $40 per diem sum, but explained:
“Technically, no one got paid. Because then if someone got paid, there could be legal issues about, you know, a win, or who got paid how much. You know, it could have been a whole big drama of people getting paid to be on a contest.”
Hmm. Not sure if the legal argument here is sound. It still seems like contestants on an extremely popular program should make more than $40 a day. Plus, she also confirmed:
“And no, we don’t get residuals or anything like that, but we did sign a contract and they did feed us and we were able to buy our own personal items if we needed to.”
Basically, the only thing she’s actually disagreeing with from Sarah’s allegations is the fact that the show fed their models, which is a pretty low bar. She did, however, credit Top Model with the fact that “every job that I’ve received after that on television, I received residuals.”
And BTW, an insider for E! News tried to sweep the whole thing under the rug by claiming:
“This has nothing to do with Tyra. It’s a production issue.”
Except, again, she was an executive producer, so it did have something to do with her. Plus, just because that might have been the standard in the modeling world (according to Toccara), Tyra seemingly had the opportunity to change it rather than stick with an unacceptable status quo.
But what do U think, Perezcious readers? Do you agree with Toccara’s arguments? Or are you on Sarah’s side of the issue? Let us know your thoughts in the comments (below).
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