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Tyra Banks Reflects On the Infamous "We Were All Rooting For You" Moment On 'ANTM', Says Looking Back She Probably Wouldn't Have Aired It

"Maybe I wouldn’t have aired it.

America's Next Top Model is about to make its return with creator Tyra Banks at the helm, which means all of the special moments from the show have been popping up again.

Like this:

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And this:

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And especially this:

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In a conversation with Buzzfeed, Tyra talks about that unforgettable moment where she scolded eliminated contestant Tiffany Richardson whose lukewarm attitude about the competition completely set her off. "A lot of the times, it’s easy to go either way. It’s easier to say, 'Oh my god, that was awful, I’m a victim,' or it’s the other way around, 'I’m awful,' and you kinda blame yourself," she told the outlet. "I felt like [Tiffany] took ownership of some of the things she could’ve done better, but at the same time said, 'That was some crazy s---t.'"

Tyra explains that she and the Top Model team had invested so much time and resources into Tiffany that she couldn't help but go off. “It was such an emotional, visceral moment for me,” she said. “I had so much love for this girl.”

Richard told Buzzfeed in an earlier interview that the harsh critiques were more hurtful than constructive. “I don’t really care if you go in hard on me — go in on me, but help me,” she said. “Going in, we thought we were going to get modeling help... I felt like we were just there to be humiliated."

But Tyra assures that she was only trying to prepare the girls for the criticism they'd get in the modeling world, which is actually worse. “The things I have heard — it makes you insecure about things that you weren’t even insecure about. A lot of girls see it on TV, but it’s not the same as when it’s happening to you. So Top Model is nothing new, you’ve seen it for ages and you see these girls crying and you’re like, ‘I’m gonna go on there and I’m gonna be amazing,’ and then you get this feedback that maybe you’re not perfect and these are the areas that you need to improve being said to you in so many different ways from different judges and that can hurt.”

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Tyra is well aware of all the memes the show has generated, but would she do it all again differently? "Oh my god totally, I wouldn't have done it," Banks said. "Actually, maybe I wouldn’t have aired it."

Tyra is taking over the new season and she means business. America's Next Top Model returns Tuesday, January 9th at 8/7c on VH1!