Tyra Banks or Tyrant Banks? Employees Say She's Over The Top

It appears that Tyra Banks may not be the most beloved figure in the eyes of her former employees. The New York Daily News is quoting unnamed former employees of Banks, who claim that she was a complete nightmare to work with and didn't even bother to tell her staff that her show was coming to an end.

"There had been high turnover of employees for years," a past employee told the paper. "She and the higher-ups on the production staff could be extremely brutal," the source says. "She really is a diva."

Banks released a statement recently, stating that she wants to end her show to focus on her film company, Bankable Studios. Tyra also says that the studio will create films that produce more positive images of women. When asked if it is possible that Banks made the switch without telling her staff, a source had this to say:

"It wouldn't be surprising. When the show moved from L.A. to New York, several staffers weren't even directly told about the change - they heard through the grapevine that it was going to move locations. Even so, a lot of those people gave up their lives on the West Coast so they could continue working for the show. Now they're out of luck."

I sincerely hope that Tyra Banks is not the Tyrant that some are proclaiming her to be. But after hearing this disturbing information about Tyra, I had the following thoughts:

1) We can't automatically believe the hype: The bigger you are, the more people say stupid things about you. I am not nearly as well-known as Tyra Banks, but a few hundred national television appearances have earned me both lovers and haters. I recall a colleague once telling me that some of the black scholars she knows told her, "Don't go near Boyce Watkins. He's a complete jerk." I laughed it off, because none of the people who made the comment have actually met me in person - no, I'm not a jerk, but I am tough with those who try to play me. Media can make people larger than life and less human than they deserve to be. Tyra is probably not nearly as brutal as her angry ex-employee wants you believe she is. But I don't doubt for one second that Tyra Banks isn't tough; you don't get to be where she is without fighting some nasty battles in order to get there.

2) If any of these claims about Tyra Banks are true, then I hope Tyra understands the importance of respecting everyone: One of the things I've always believed is that you should respect everyone, no matter what. This is doubly true for the people who work for you, since your employees are the ones who can destroy you the easiest. The same is also true for anyone who has witnessed you doing things that might embarrass you, such as Tiger's mistresses, or an ex-spouse. I hope that Tyra covered her bases well with these people, because a person with a $100 million dollar brand can't just chew people up and spit them out in the age of the Internet.

3) No matter what, Tyra Banks is an amazing talent, a truly bankable brand, and a woman who does a great deal of good for the world:

When asked about the Tyra Banks situation, Dr. Towanna Freeman, one of the leading youth advocates in the country, had this to say:

"Girls love Tyra Banks and that's okay with me. Although Tyra Banks is often labeled a narcissist and criticized for her self-image contradictions, Tyra is a woman of achievement in the community whose life serves as an inspiration for girls to be confident, self-sufficient, and successful."

By fighting back against racism in modeling, as well as bulimia and other problems, Tyra Banks has provided a consistently empowered image to the world and to young women everywhere. Whether she is a little bit of a diva or not, such negatives should never outweigh the numerous positives of her amazing career. Some might consider Tyra Banks to be a diva; but she's also an absolute stud: You can take that straight to the Bank(s).

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Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.

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