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Clash of the divas! MSNBC is reporting that Tyra Banks and her “America’s Next Top Model” co-star, makeup artist and art director Jay Manuel, are not speaking to each other, making the taping of the show extremely uncomfortable for the rest of the cast and crew. Insiders are reporting that Tyra is totally phoning in her duties on the newest cycle of the hit reality show, and may even abandon it after this season in favor of her talk show and other projects.
There’s been no shortage of tales about Tyra Banks’ personality conflicts on the set of “America’s Next Top Model,” but the latest might be the most interesting since it could have a lasting impact on the show. OK! magazine reports that Banks isn’t getting along with photo shoot creative director Jay Manuel, and her days on the show could be numbered.
“It’s gotten so bad that Tyra and Jay aren’t speaking,” an insider told OK! magazine. The selective silent treatment isn’t limited to Manuel, either. “Tyra barely interacts with the contestants and only wants to show up on judging day,” the source told the magazine.
Net result? Banks (who wouldn’t comment on the rumors) might be looking for a new supermodel to helm ANTM. “She’s really throwing all her weight behind her talk show,” according to a source familiar with “The Tyra Banks Show.” “She’s putting lots of pressure on her staff to keep her show on the map. She had Barack Obama on, she had Hilary Clinton on — she got a taste of playing with the big boys and now ‘Top Model’ seems to detract from her big plans.”
My assessment: there could be a feud going on with Jay and Tyra. Tyra and Jay have known each other for a decade- Jay has been working with Banks since she was an up-and-coming runway model, and the two have always appeared to be close. They are both opinionated and have big personalities, and two people like that are bound to have disagreements. It’s no secret that Tyra and former supermodel Janice Dickinson had personality issues on set, but Janice is a crazy bitch. Who wouldn’t want her to shut up after five minutes?
And what about the idea of Tyra leaving “Top Model,” the show she created? I highly doubt it 0 the show put Tyra on the map and it’s her baby. There’s no way she’d leave the show and let Jay stay on! In a recent Entertainment Weekly interview, Tyra admitted that her presence on the show, now in its tenth “cycle,” has somewhat diminished, but she still attends every production meeting and is just as involved behind the scenes as ever.
