Tiffany Richardson accuses Tyra Banks of bullying her behind the scenes, despite Banks' apology in Netflix docuseries.
The editing of the original confrontation allegedly hid the extent of Banks' harsh comments toward Richardson.
Richardson demands a face-to-face meeting with Banks to address the long-term impact of the incident.
Time does not heal all wounds.
Source: Jeff Schear/Getty
America's Next Top Model alum Tiffany Richardson is going in on Tyra Banks after the show's creator apologized for her insanely viral moment on the show. Her apology came in the new Netflix documentaries Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model.
While he was eliminated from the show alongside another contestant, Rebecca Epley, Richardson was not visibly upset by the moment. While Epley was yelling, Richardson wasn't, which clearly got to Tyra.
“Rebecca, I admire your emotion right now. It shows me that this was something that is very important to you,” Banks said, before turning to Richardson. “Tiffany, I'm extremely disappointed in you. This is a joke to you. … This is serious to these girls, and it should be serious to you.”
As the moment heated up, Banks and Richardson began talking over each other as they tried to explain themselves, prompting Banks to become completely unhinged.
“I've never yelled at a girl like that in my life. When my mom yells like that, it's because she loves me.” she screamed, leading into her now infamous sound byte. “I was rooting for you! We were all rooting for you!”
In the new documentaries, Banks admitted she went “too far” – but her apology wasn't enough for Tiffany. In a now-deleted post, Richardson slammed the show's creator in a lengthy caption, calling her a liar and a bully.
“Hold on @tyrabanks let's keep it cute. you're 1 lie a** bound a** b***h,” she began in her post.
“You know how you treated me all the time off and on camera, you were a BULLY!!!” she continued. “You treated me like s**t and said the nasty things about me and my son. That's not how the argument went, but you edited it TO LOOK LIKE YOU FORGIVEN…”
She then turned her sights on others who wronged her, writing: “Also F**K @theshaderoom F**K YO WERID A– FANS AND F— YOU @tyrabanks I BET THAT'S NOT SITTING WITH ME AND TALKING THERE!!! Also F— MY FAMILY 🙄🙄 never defend me I have more money and help more people than all or many of the top models but that's the update you give 🙄 da*n shame.. it still gives you a hate on lil black a** me @tyrabanks.
In the documentaries, Tyra said she “went too far” with Richardson, admitting she “lost it” on her in the heated moment.
“It was probably bigger than her. It was family, friends, society, black girls, all the challenges we have,” said Banks. “So many people say we're not good enough. I think everything was in that moment. That's some black girl stuff that really goes deep inside me, but I knew I was going too far.”
The show's creative director, Jay Manuel, called the situation “the most difficult moment on set I've ever experienced.”
Manuel also seemed to confirm that the editing claims were true, saying: “There was a lot more that was really said. And some of the things that were said were really not well intended. I'll probably never repeat the lines that were said in that room, that day.”
In an interview with Buzz feed last month, Richardson opened up about her time on the show, insisting that what happened in real life was actually a lot worse than what the show portrayed.
Tiffany says the infamous argument was “1,000 times worse” in reality, recalling Banks yelling at her and saying, “You can go back to your house and sleep on your mattress on the floor with your baby.”
While Richardson would not reveal any further information about what may have been cut from Banks' tirade, that particular comment, she said, “remained in the back of my mind.”
