Ever since Tyra Banks made her debut as the host of “Dancing with the Stars” during season 29 in 2020, the former supermodel has been on shaky ground. Now after several public missteps sparking viewer outrage and public calls for her to be fired, the former “America’s Next Top Model” host says she is stepping down from the celebrity dance competition show.
No More Ballroom
Banks told a TMZ reporter that she would be leaving the show to focus on her other businesses and to pursue her entrepreneurial passions, TMZ reported
She told TMZ that she will concentrate on other ventures, including her ice cream business, SMiZE & DREAM.
“I feel it’s time for me to really focus on my business and my entrepreneurship and also producing more TV but behind the scenes,” she said. “So, you know what? I think it’s time to graduate from the dance floor to the stock market floor.”
Banks launched SMiZE & Dream ice cream internationally 2019 but aims to bringing it to the U.S. market soon.
Although Banks has hosted other shows including her own talkfest “The Tyra Banks Show” and “America’s Got Talent,” she didn’t seem like a good fit for “Dancing With the Stars,” fans complained.
On Her Way Out
Gossip publications are suggesting that if Banks hadn’t quit she would have been fired. After all, swarms of fans of the show have been going to social media calling for ABC to fire Banks, saying that she comes of as rude on air to celebrity guests and staff.
According to OK! magazine, show producers gave her an ultimatum, either let them add another host to balance her on-air presence or leave. Alfonso Ribeiro joined the show in season 31 as her co-host.
Not Sweating the Small Stuff
Banks seems to have wanted to beat the producers to the punch by announcing her exit as happenstance. The 49-year-old, who supposedly has a net worth of $90 million, seems to have plenty to keep her busy.
Banks, who began her modeling career while she was still in high school and in 1997 became the first African-American model to appear on the covers of Sports Illustrated’s famed swimsuit issue, runs Bankable Productions (formerly Ty Ty Baby Productions). Bankable Productions produced both “America’s Next Top Model” and “The Tyra Banks Show.” She also oversees her charitable organization Tyra Banks TZONE, which teaches young people leadership and life skills. She also has the Tyra Banks Scholarship to provide African-American girls the opportunity to attend the Immaculate Heart High School, Banks’ alma mater.
On top of this, Banks has an acting career, which she launched back on Will Smith’s “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”
She also appeared in such films as John Singleton’s drama “Higher Learning,” “Life-Size,” “Love Stinks,” “Love & Basketball,” “Coyote Ugly,” among others.
Despite her success, she told Money.com she had to learn to spend her money.
“I was always conservative. I was always more interested in experiences over things. Things didn’t make me happy. I saved, saved, saved,” said Banks, who 2004 received a non-degree certificate from Harvard Business School in 2004.
She admitted, “But I saved to a fault. About 15 years ago, my accountants pulled me aside and they were like ‘Tyra. You’re not spending money. Nothing. You’re just giving it away to the government. You need to spend some damn money!’ So we created something called the ‘F account.’ Which was the ‘frivolous account.’ And I had a budget to spend frivolously for the year, every year. I needed that to feel safe.”
