For the most part, celebrity news is just like any other news. What’s dropping jaws on Monday is lining bird cages on Friday.

And, there’s always a “bigger” and “juicier” story coming along to make sure that happens.

Shortly after the promo for America’s Next Top Model aired – you know, the one featuring Tyra Banks commenting on a contestant’s extremely skinny waist – Jennifer Aniston blundered her way through a spot on Live with Regis and Kelly, and after a swiftly issued apology, Tyra was forgotten.

However, I haven’t forgotten, and it’s not as much what Tyra said that I’m thinking about; rather, it’s whether or not she should have needed to apologize.

You can read the entire apology over at Tyra.com, but in short, the meat of the apology begins and ends as such:

On behalf of the entire Top Model team, I am truly sorry for the style in which the Top Model promo clip was presented [...] Sometimes in the quest to have fun in a limited amount of time, especially in a 20-second promo, our overarching message can be misconstrued, and in this case it most certainly was.

Janice Dickinson, who worked with America’s Next Top Model for five years, isn’t buying it, claiming:

Everything they shoot is intentional. Don’t tell me different. [...] Tyra is the executive producer of that show…It’s her show. She’s very controlling. She’s the hardest working woman on that show. She has her finger on that pulse – trust me.

But what I’m having trouble understanding is…what was intentional?

The contestant has a shockingly skinny waist. There’s no getting around that. If I were interviewing a girl with a waist that thin – in the same context, i.e. a modeling competition – I probably would’ve commented, too.

Of course, it’s doesn’t seem to be the fact that Tyra commented on the thin waist that had everyone in an uproar; rather, it’s what the promo clip shows her saying after her reaction to the waist that was upsetting for some viewers:

There’s something about her that I like!

To be fair, I can see how folks would draw the connection between “You have the smallest waist in the world” and “There’s something about her that I like!” It probably was a poor editing choice.

But, folks who paused to really think about it might’ve seen Tyra’s comment as just an honest, no-connection-to-having-a-super-skinny-waist exclamation. Aside from the model being unique, there might’ve been things that happened during the segment that we didn’t see in the promo. The model might’ve said something funny. Or had an interesting background. Or claimed she preferred the CW’s America’s Next Top Model over Bravo’s Make Me A Super Model, hands down.

We don’t know.

Again, probably a poor editing choice.

In the end, I don’t think the promo – or the way it was edited – should’ve been seen as promoting super skinny waists, nor do I think Tyra intended for it to look that way, regardless of what Janice Dickinson thinks. Tyra Banks has battled her own private and public issues with weight, and I can’t see her intentionally sending an “I like you because you’re incredibly skinny” message. I do think her apology was heartfelt.

What about you?

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    Last reviewed: 1 Sep 2010