Recently, America's Next Top Model resurfaced on the web because people are realizing how problematic the show was.
One of the more viral moments that made the rounds is this exchange from Cycle 6 when Tyra told one of the contestants, Dani Evans, to close the gap in her teeth:
Why was this allowed to air wtf Tyra banks is going to straight hell
It's ESPECIALLY upsetting because, a mere few cycles later, Tyra had one of the contestants get the gap in her teeth WIDENED.
Well, in a recent Instagram post, Dani responded to the episode and its lasting implications:
Dani began the video by saying that she initially wasn't going to respond to the resurfaced clip, but when Slick Woods — another model known for her gap — messaged her, she knew she had to say something.
Dani then started to talk about how America's Next Top Model was her ticket out of Little Rock, Arkansas, and nothing or no one was going to get in her way.
During the infamous episode where all the girls went to the dentist, Dani also shared that during this episode, the dentist kept asking her if she wanted to close her gap and she repeatedly said no. Their back-and-forth exchange didn't make it to air.
So when it came time for the panel and Tyra asked Dani why she didn't get her gap closed, she realized that the producers hadn't relayed the message from Tyra because it would be "good for TV."
At the time, Dani, who did eventually agree to partially close the gap, viewed fulfilling Tyra's request as another step in her journey out of Little Rock. It wasn't until much later that she realized the lasting implications it may have had on the young girls watching her on TV.
Dani ended the video not with a message to Tyra or to the ANTM producers but "to all the young queens affected by Tyra's words":
You're beautiful...it doesn't matter if you have a gap, stacked teeth, straight teeth. It doesn't matter if you're black, brown, white, indifferent, other. It doesn't matter. What makes you beautiful is [on the inside]. It's a matter of your self-worth ... [which] no one can establish except you. ... I want to remind you of your worth. You are a masterpiece. You are so loved, so adored, and you are beautiful.
Live footage of me watching this entire video:
Friends, fans, and celebrities came out in DROVES to show support for Dani in the comments, including Slick Woods...
...fellow ANTM alum Eugena Washington...
...and EVEN MR. JAY MANUEL HIMSELF!
IDK about y'all, but this whole post MOVED me.
