Tyra Banks has spoken out about the firing of Nigel Barker, Jay Manuel and J. Alexander from “America’s Next Top Model,” saying that the decision was made simply because the show “needs a new boost.”
“We’ve reached a point where were feel that the show just needs a new boost,” the Booty Tooch expert told “Access Hollywood” earlier this week, while attending the Matrix Awards in New York. “There’s a lot of people who go into that decision.”
NIGEL RESPONDS TO ‘ANTM’ FIRING
She furthers that pink-slipping the three after 18 cycles—exclusively revealed by Page Six last Friday—was a hard decision.
“It’s very difficult because I love my guys. I mean, they’re my guys!” she said. “They’ve been there since the beginning of the show.”
Still, Banks assures that all three will remain closely allied with the franchise.
“They’ll still be there because my partner Ken Mok and I, we have projects that we’re developing, and we’re a family,” she said. “So it doesn’t end.”
Last week, Barker said that he was not surprised to be dismissed from the show that made him famous.
“It wasn’t a shock,” he said. “There had been a discussion that ratings were down and that something like this would happen. There had been previous years where discussions about me being eliminated from the show had happened and I had actually survived the chopping block before.”
Banks is no doubt hoping that fresh blood will help stem the show’s declining ratings.