Tyra Banks has opened up about her turbulent relationship with Naomi Campbell and admits she often ‘cried her eyes out’ over their feud.
The America’s Next Top Model judge rose to stardom in the nineties when Naomi, 49, was already a household name on the catwalk.
But Tyra says she wasn’t welcomed with open arms and claims Naomi tried to keep her at arms length at the beginning of her career.
When asked about their ‘rivalry’ in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Tyra replied: ‘No, it wasn’t a rivalry.
‘I’m very sensitive to that word because a rivalry is between two equals to me whereas one was very dominant, she was a supermodel, and I was just this new girl that had got on a plane from Paris and was studying fashion and magazines.’
The 45-year-old went on to detail how she had ‘very painful early days in Paris’ due to her feud with Naomi.
Tyra continued: ‘As much as I was booking fashion shows, people didn’t know I was going home at night crying my eyes out because the woman I was looking up to seemed like she just didn’t want me to be there and was doing everything in her power to make me go away.’
Although she now understands Naomi’s alleged reaction to her arrival on the modelling scene, Tyra still remembers how she struggled with the British supermodel’s so-called treatment.
‘I didn’t understand that as a young girl, why is she doing this? This is so evil and awful,’ Tyra said.
‘The adult me understands that she was reacting to an industry that was all about a token.’
Tyra noted how supermodels Kate Moss and Christy Turlington were not pitted against each other during their heyday, but she was compared to Naomi because they were black women.
‘But when I came on the scene, “Naomi look out because there’s a black girl who’s going to take your spot”. Only one spot available,’ she said.
Naomi has mostly remained tight-lipped on her reported conflict with Tyra, but actually praised the model and actress in a 2013 interview with Elle magazine.
Taking the high ground, Naomi said: ‘I don’t watch the other reality model shows. I’ll never have anything to say.
‘If you ask me about Tyra Banks… I’m proud of her as a woman of colour. She’s given girls opportunity, and God bless her.’
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