In the last 30 years of her career, Tyra Banks has done it all: supermodeling, acting, producing, a stint of her own daytime talk show. And lately, she’s been taking on host duties for Dancing With The Stars for the past two seasons. The new gig resulted in a number of criticisms leveled against her, though, particularly about the 48-year-old’s jaw-dropping fashion choices, big entrances on stage, and frequent on-air flubs. To add to the heat thrown Banks’ way, former DWTS host Brooke Burke called her out for being a “diva” on set.
If you cast your mind back to the year 2008, you’ll remember that Brooke Burke in fact won Dancing With The Stars’ seventh season alongside her dance partner Derek Hough, who is now one of the judges. ABC invited Burke back later on to serve as a co-host for the live competition show from Season 10 to Season 17. Since then, she’s been mostly focused on building up a fitness brand, but the former winner of the show also had some time to weigh in on how Tyra Banks is doing in her old spot. She said on the Behind the Velvet Rope podcast,
It's tough, it's a live show. And I know those live tapings are a struggle behind the scenes. You know, she's a diva. Everybody knows she's a diva. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm not saying anything bad about her.
I don’t know – unless you’re Beyonce, it usually isn’t the greatest compliment to be thought of as a diva, although Brooke Burke clarified that "there's nothing wrong" with owning that title. Burke added that she too can sometimes be a diva herself but maintained that excess in showmanship on Dancing With The Stars is “not the place.” Tyra Banks’ predecessor continued,
Your pros are the divas, your winner, your perfect-10-score dancer who's never done it, that defines diva in the ballroom. I think that show requires a lot of compassion and loving kindness, especially as the host. I don't really need to say it, I think it was a tough transition. Change is hard. It's hard for everyone. They've gone through a lot on that show, that's for sure. You're just not the star as the host, it's not about you as the host. So, yeah, I think Tyra's great in a shining role, I'll just say that.
Dancing With The Stars’ hosting duties have changed hands a few times in its 17-year history, and with the dances being performed live, there’s bound to be mishaps. Tyra Banks caught the most flak for seemingly pulling a Steve Harvey/Miss Universe when it came to dancing partners Monica Aldama and Val Chmerkovskiy in 2020, with some fans even calling for her to be fired. At the time, the supermodel addressed the big Season 29 mistake, saying that a lot of BTS “craziness” was going on. Still, things only got worse when she cut off an eliminated contestant’s tribute to their late grandmother last season.
Regardless, Tyra Banks should be pretty acclimated to criticisms at this point, having been an international print and runway model for much of her life. She’s also been under a lot of scrutiny in more recent months for the pay given to her former America’s Next Top Model contestants coming to light.
The beleaguered hostess hasn’t yet been confirmed as part of the next season. What we do know with certainty is that changes are a-brewing for Season 31 of Dancing With The Stars. The show will be moving from ABC to the Disney+ subscription, making it the first live show to appear on the platform. We’ll keep you updated on Tyra Banks’ position amidst it all.
