You wanna be on top?!
Whether she's modeling, hosting or acting, Tyra Banks is a pro in front of a camera. But of course, being in the spotlight means that haters gonna hate, and the multihyphenate has recently gotten a taste of the haterade since hosting season 29 of Dancing With the Stars.
Just last month, viewers of the competition series expressed criticism of Tyra's hosting skills. While the supermodel admitted that she "messed up" her lines, she took a moment to defend herself.
"Tonight I hosted the second episode of Dancing With the Stars and yeah, it wasn't perfect," she explained in a TikTok video in September. "Yeah, I had a lot of fun but I messed up. I said the wrong words, but I kept going."
A source close to the host echoes the same sentiments, telling E! News, "The ratings for DWTS are up and Tyra is not worried about losing or fighting to save her job."
"She loves doing it and the execs love her," the insider continues. "She tunes out the noise and doesn't listen to social media critiques."
The insider points out that this isn't her first time at the rodeo, either. As fans of the star will recall, she hosted America's Next Top Model, her eponymous daytime talk show, as well as America's Got Talent.
"The same thing happened when she was on AGT," adds the insider. "She knows how to handle haters and she has her whole career!"
Simply put, "She's a pro."
Back in July, ABC announced that Tyra would take center stage and host Dancing With the Stars with a "new creative direction."
"In collaboration with the show's executive producer/showrunner, Andrew Llinares, Banks will bring her energy and inspiration to the creative refresh the team is planning while honoring the show America loves," a statement read at the time.
Tyra shared her excitement over the news as well. "I've been a fan of DWTS since its beginning...," her statement began. "The fun mixed with raw emotion, seeing celebrities push past their comfort zones, the sizzling dance performances... it's always transported me to my days of turning it up 10 notches on the catwalk."
She added, "Tom [Bergeron] has set a powerful stage, and I'm excited to continue the legacy and put on my executive producer and hosting hats."
Along with the hosting news, Tyra hinted that the fan-favorite show would be "different" than previous seasons.
"OK, let's just keep this real: It is going to be so next level," the Coyote Ugly alum said while speaking to Good Morning America in July. "We're doing all this crazy stuff, taking it into the next level, but still keeping the stuff that we know America loves. But you need to get ready because it's going to be different."
In that same interview, Tyra also gushed about making history on DWTS. She's the series' first Black woman to host the competition solo. She expressed, "It's nice to be first so you can open that door and let so many people in after you."
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.