Tyra Banks has addressed backlash over her reality competition series America's Next Top Model after previously being on the air for 24 seasons.
The TV personality, 51 - who recently showed off her glow up for 25th anniversary of film Coyote Ugly - briefly touched on the topic while attending ESSENCE's Black Women in Hollywood Awards on Thursday.
The supermodel created the show which first premiered back in May 2003 and at one point, was notably the highest-rated show on The CW.
Banks was the honoree of the first-ever Luminary Spotlight Award during the ceremony - with other stars such as Cynthia Erivo and Zoe Kravitz also making an appearance.
At one point during her acceptance speech, Tyra seemingly referenced to backlash over resurfaced clips of controversial moments from the series.
She also admitted that she said 'some dumb s**t' during her time as host of the modeling competition and that the show didn't always 'get it right.'
'Did we get it right? Hell no. I said some dumb s**t,' she admitted to the crowd. 'But I refuse to have my legacy be about some stuff linked together on the Internet when there were 24 cycles of changing the world.'
'And I am so excited that I, and so many of us, have opened that door for others to follow.'
Banks continued, 'And now my 51-year-old, dimpled, cellulite-covered bigger tummy and 10 million times bigger titties is walking through that door that I opened with all of us behind us on that runway saying, "Baby, it's just the beginning."'
Elsewhere in her speech, the actress reflected, 'Over 20 years ago I created a show called America's Next Top Model.
'And you guys have no idea how hard we fought to bring the diversity to that television show at a time when it didn't exist, to show different beauties at a time when the world was like, "What? You casting that?"'
She further expressed, 'A time when people in the fashion industry were telling me, "You putting the girls from the hood on your show?"
'I was like, "Why can the girl from the trailer park become a supermodel but the girl that's chillin' in the park in the hood can't?" And we fought and we struggled and we made it happen.'
America's Next Top Model first began airing in May 2003 on UPN (United Paramount Network) which later shut down in 2006 along with The WB.
The show then continued to air on The CW network from 2006 through 2015. The final seasons were shown on VH1 from 2016 until the series finale in 2018.
Two years later, controversial clips began to resurface on social media in 2020 and Banks was also slammed for her 'problematic' behavior on the series as both a judge and host.
In one of the seasons - also known as cycles - Tyra had criticized one of the contestant's teeth while one episode included models using makeup to look like other ethnicities.
Another moment from the show that was later resurfaced showed Banks labeling a model who was a size six 'plus size.'
In one of the episodes, Tyra and another judge Janice Dickinson could be seen discussing one of the models Robin Manning - who had been age 27 at the time.
'Are we shooting for the large size category?' Dickinson asked, with Banks replying with, 'Yes, Robin would represent a plus-size model. One problem that I do have is that on the top she's not plus-sized, and on the bottom she is.'
Janice then said, 'Robin's out, as far as I'm concerned about being a supermodel. The next America's Next Top Model is not a plus sized model, I'm sorry!'
Other contestants who appeared on the series previously spoke out and said that they were left 'traumatized' after starring on America's Next Top Model.
Some models stated that they had suffered from 'panic attacks' while on the reality competition series but were not offered any medical treatment.
During the fourth season (Cycle 4), one of the models had to pose inside a casket only one week after learning one of her friends had passed away.
In 2020, Tyra took to X (formerly Twitter at the time) to address backlash at the time and in a post she penned: 'Been seeing the posts about the insensitivity of some past ANTM moments and I agree with you.'
'Appreciate your honest feedback and am sending so much love and virtual hugs,' the star added.
And last year in May, Banks discussed to E! News how the reality show could have a possibility of returning.
'We have tried, so it's not us,' she explained at the time. 'It's the powers that be. I'm not the biggest boss in the room, so it's not my doing. Maybe one day.'
In regards to long-running series being on the air for 24 cycles, Tyra stated, 'I didn't realize that America's Next Top Model would be one of the most successful television shows in the history of television.'
Banks - who has landed on covers of magazines such as Sports Illustrated Swimsuit - added, 'Never. I thought it would be two seasons and that it. So big, big surprise.'
The star continued, 'I think it's legendary because it opened the door for so much before diversity was a thing that people had to do because of the pressure of social media.'
'We were doing things that people would poo-poo, or go, "Why are you doing that?" And, "That person is not traditionally beautiful." So we got a lot of backlash, a lot, for breaking down those doors.'
Tyra added, 'But sometimes when you're early in first, you get the bumps and bruises and you open the door for other people to come.'
While Banks was the main judge and host for most of the series, Rita Ora briefly stepped in to replace Tyra for cycle 23.
However, the supermodel returned as the host and judge for the final season of America's Next Top Model in 2018.
