'I like my big a**': Tyra Banks says she feels better with curvy derriere as she opens up about finding peace with her figure
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Tyra Banks has certainly never been one to mince words.
And after struggling with fluctuating weight during her career as one of the world's highest paid supermodels, the feisty brunette knows a thing or two about the pressures faced to stay super slim
in the cutthroat industry.
in the cutthroat industry.
The star even faced her own critics head-on when unflattering photos of her in a swimsuit were splashed across magazines and newspapers in 2007 - parading in the exact same swimming costume in front of a live studio audience on her talk show to prove she wasn't overweight.
She's still got it: A body-confident Tyra Banks wowed at the premiere of the 20th season of America's Next Top Model in LA on Wednesday
'I need some ass': The former supermodel has revealed she looks better with a little extra junk in her trunk
At a private screening and fashion show to launch the new season of America's Next Top Model on Wednesday night, the curvaceous starlet revealed during a chat with Us Weekly that she's against dieting and has at last made peace with her body.
Repeatedly referring to her 'big ass' during the interview, Tyra states that she favours having a little extra junk in her trunk.
'I don't believe in diets,' she tells the publication, adding that popular juice cleanses she dubs the 'Class Reunion Diet' may work in the short-term, 'but the minute you bite one piece of real food, you're going to gain [the weight] right back.'
Gaining popularity as one of the more natural, curvier runway models in her day, the statuesque beauty scored coveted contracts with the likes of Victoria's Secret - modelling for the lingerie giant from 1997-2005.
'I was at the height of my success when I was at my biggest. So then I go, "Why am I shedding weight for press when, like, I told the world to kiss my fat ass and had Emmys and Top Model was at its peak and I was on Time magazine's top influential people two times in a row - all with a big ass!"'
What a difference 10 years makes: The towering beauty - pictured left in 1998 and right in 2008 - was at her lowest weight in the early 1990s but at her heaviest during the height of her career
Coming to the realisation that she looks better with more meat on her bones, the entrepreneur businesswoman ditched the fad diets for a healthier approach - and hasn't looked back since.
'I lost weight a couple of years ago and that just changed the way I ate, it changed the way I thought. I actually got too thin because I have tunnel vision. I was too strict, and I realised I needed to cheat way more because it didn't look good,' she says.
'I didn't realise I was too thin until I started seeing pictures and I thought, "Oh, I don't like that. That doesn't look good." I need some ass.'
Far from overweight: The gutsy star flaunted her curvy figure in front of a live studio audience on her talk show in 2007 after unflattering photos emerged of her looking much heavier
Happier heavier: The Victoria's Secret model exuded way more confidence as she hit the catwalk in 2005 (left) with a little more meat on her bones than she did in 2000 (right)
She also admitted she 'doesn't do a good job' helping contestants on long-running competition America's Next Top Model lose weight - even on the odd occasion they need to.
'We stock the house really bad, and then they complain, like, "We're eating all this crap!" For me,
I don't want them to feel all crazy like models in my day felt. I don't care - gain some weight, whatever. I know how to choose a shot that's the most flattering.'
I don't want them to feel all crazy like models in my day felt. I don't care - gain some weight, whatever. I know how to choose a shot that's the most flattering.'
While the common practice of using PhotoShop in magazines has been largely criticised over recent years due to the unrealistic expectation it places on easily influenced teens to aspire to the 'perfect' body, the judge and mentor is an avid fan - especially when it comes to pictures of herself.
'I don't believe in diets': The Harvard Business graduate has found peace with her larger frame in recent years after years of fad dieting
Work it, girl! The star flaunted a much trimmer figure in 2011, though she now admits the presence of cellulite means she 'can't do short skirts without stockings anymore'
'I don't think cellulite is great - that's not a flaw that I want in a photo by any means! I retouch that crap out,' she laughs, before adding that she's at least honest about it. 'But I tell women that I'm retouching it out.'
As the star gears up to celebrate the big 4-0 on December 4, the Harvard Business graduate reveals she isn't immune from dreaded cellulite.
But while she may have gained some unwanted orange peel over the years, at least she hasn't lost her sense of humour.
'I have too much cellulite right now. The shape is fine, but, honey, I have on stockings! I can't do short skirts without stockings anymore, so I don't like that.'
She likes them young! The 39-year-old was rumoured to be dating America's Next Top Model judge and male supermodel Rob Evans last year, though despite their obvious chemistry, Tyra denied the chatter
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2388174/Tyra-Banks-says-feels-better-curvy-derriere-opens-finding-peace-body.html#ixzz2bVwRjE9V
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