quote:

Tyra exposes yet another side

By LYNN ELBER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tyra Banks really throws herself into her job as a talk-show host, often in ways only a recently retired supermodel can.

On today's show (WWOR/Ch. 9, 5 p.m.), for instance, Banks goes "undercover" as a stripper at a topless club, although the former Victoria's Secret model stops short of complete disclosure.

In the past, she's posed as a Las Vegas showgirl and used her face as canvas for makeup lessons.

The stripper segment, she said, was the result of hearing friends and viewers express frustration about the men in their lives spending time and money in strip clubs.

"When I found out the majority of business is from males from married homes, I wanted to go inside the minds of the men who frequent these clubs. I wanted to see and hear why they went. And the only way to do that was to go undercover and see for myself," Banks said.

Having Banks strut her stuff incognito as a dancer (named "Chanel") can only be a ratings plus for the syndicated "The Tyra Banks Show."

But Banks, 32, said she considers her program, which typically draws a heavily young and female audience, a vehicle to educate as well as entertain.

For one segment, she donned an elaborate disguise that turned her into a 350-pound woman and then ventured into stores and on blind dates to test people's reactions to obesity.

"I feel like it's the last form of discrimination that's openly acceptable. I wanted to experience that firsthand to share that with my audience," Banks said.

There are further issues she wants to explore, she said, both through her show and the Tyra Banks Foundation, which sponsors an annual summer camp program intended to help boost self-esteem in girls.

Women can "have a hard time trusting each other. ... It's something very important to me to change that," she said.

Encouraging self-sufficiency is another goal.

"I think that's very important, whether you're a housemom or a working mother, that you have that independence so you're not stuck in a situation you're not comfortable in for financial reasons or emotional reasons," she said.

March 1, 2006

quote:

For one segment, she donned an elaborate disguise that turned her into a 350-pound woman and then ventured into stores and on blind dates to test people's reactions to obesity.

"I feel like it's the last form of discrimination that's openly acceptable. I wanted to experience that firsthand to share that with my audience," Banks said.

quote:

On today's show (WWOR/Ch. 9, 5 p.m.), for instance, Banks goes "undercover" as a stripper at a topless club, although the former Victoria's Secret model stops short of complete disclosure.

quote:

Dit topic
3 post 713 views