The Big Flop - Tyra Banks: America’s Next Top Businesswoman? with Scam Goddess and Aida Rodriguez | 75

Episode Date: February 17, 2025

In the modeling world, Tyra Banks was untouchable—breaking barriers, creating catchphrases, and teaching a generation how to 'smize.' But when she tried to parlay that success into a business empire, things got messier than a Cover Girl photoshoot. From forcing Top Model contestants to promote her tone-deaf projects to selling $225 VIP tickets to a glorified Instagram museum, the queen of fierce learned that some dreams are better left on the vision board.Laci Mosely (Scam Goddess) and Aida Rodriguez (Legitimate Kid) join Misha to give the side-eye to Tyra Banks’s side hustles. Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletterListen to The Big Flop on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/the-big-flop/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Before we dive into today's tale of catastrophe, I have to tell you about Wondery+. If you're someone who craves the juicy details behind the biggest flops, Wondery+, is exactly what you need. Add free episodes and early access to new stories that will take you even deeper into the world of business blunders. Trust me, it's a game changer. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or in Apple Podcast. You know that friend who's always pitching you a terrible idea for a new business? Well, today on The Big Flop, we're talking about an absolute queen who sometimes turns her side hustle dreams

into total nightmares. And it brings me no pleasure to tell you it's none other than Tyra frickin' Banks. We're talking ice cream, book series, even a theme park. But make it fashion. Our first guest is a supermodel and superbusinesswoman, and she does it all while being a mom.

I know what the public wants, whether it's ice cream or a TV show or hosting. Tyra Banks' new model, theme park, immersive experience called Model Land. This was one of the weirdest things I've ever experienced. Tyra Banks' MLM makeup line and how it massively failed. We are on a sinking ship. You just realized your business needed to hire someone like yesterday.

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Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need. From Wondery and Atwill Media, this is The Big Flop, where we chronicle the greatest flubs, fails, and blunders of all time. I'm your host, Misha Brown, social media superstar who always wants to be on top at Don't Cross a Gay Man. And on our show today, we have an absolutely fabulous comedian who recently started her own podcast called Say What You

Mean, So You Know She's Here to Tell It to a Straight. It's Ida Rodriguez. Welcome to the show. Thank you. Also on our show, we have an amazing returning guest. Listeners, you'll remember her from our Fire Fest episode. It is the Scam Goddess herself, Lacey Mosley. Welcome.

Hello. Good to be here. You are killing it these days. Thank you. Yes, you can watch Scam Goddess now on Hulu and Freeform. So get into it. Yes. Run to it.

So before we get into the whole Tyra Banks business woman saga, when you think about Tyra Banks, what comes to mind? Tyra Banks was my TV auntie. Um, I always watched America's Next Top Model. And that's how I learned, like, when I was in New York and I got a pop-up audition or something like that, pop into a Sephora, you know, use those samples, get your makeup ready and do those things. I learned how to do my mascara from Top Model.

I learned so much about just being self-sufficient as a pretty woman, because I gotta be in full drag. Misha, you don't have to do that. But everywhere I go, I have to be like, Shantay, you stay. So I learned a lot of that from Miss Tyra. Yeah. I think it's so funny.

You know, sitting over here and now full auntie status. Tyra Banks was signed by IMG and when I modeled, I remember, I did a modeling competition and one of these... Of course you modeled. Thank you. I appreciate it. I'm gonna take that. I'm gonna take that. You're a baddie. The internet is mean, so I'm gonna take that.

The internet is mean. It is mean. It is. But what I will say about her that I think inspires, always inspired me the most was she had the fullest body. And I'm a hippie girl girl and I saw a version of myself that I had never seen in modeling before because everybody was just so straight up and down. And she was just this voluptuous, beautiful, tall, just full woman. And I was, I just thought

that she was everything. You know, I want to preface this by saying that I am a Tyra fan, and that we are not talking about Tyra being a flop herself. It's just some of these little side hustles. Speaking of side hustles, is there a time when you've had your own side hustle that maybe didn't work out quite how you hoped? -♪ PAULA LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, PAULA LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, JORDAN LAUGHS, You're talking to performers. Like, what do you mean? Yeah, exactly. I was the worst bank teller on the teller line.

I was a horrible travel agent. I tried to be a reggaeton singer. That didn't work. Oh, got it! Yeah, even Neo. Neo wrote a song for me. And I... What? Yeah, he did. He wrote the hook. He wrote the... When he got into the studio,

he did backup for me. And I was like, I know I belong on the microphone, but I don't know if this is the way I'm supposed to be on the microphone. This is the first time I've ever admitted that in public. Yeah. Well, today's episode is all about Tyra Banks, one of the biggest supermodels in the world and host of one of the biggest reality shows of all time,

who just can't stop trying to start side businesses. And those side businesses don't always work in her favor. And as time goes on, it seems like she just keeps launching more and more of these side ventures faster and faster. Now, we were rooting for you, Tyra. We were all rooting for you. Now, let's go back to the beginning. Tyra gets her start modeling at age 15 in 1988, and she quickly becomes one of the biggest names in fashion. In just two years, she gets a contract with Elite Model Management,

one of the biggest modeling agencies in the world. And by 1991, when she's just 18, she lands in Paris, where she does 25 fashion shows in just one year, a record. In 1993, she becomes the main model for CoverGirl and People Magazine names her one of their 50 most beautiful people in both 1994 and 1996. Side note, it feels pretty rude for people to call Tyra one of the most beautiful people in the world in 1994, leave her off of the list in 1995,

and then be like, "'JK, you're looking good again, Queen,' in 1996." -♪ What were they saying? You fell off a little bit. -♪ I don't know. -♪ Get your eyebrows done, and then we'll call you back in 96. What? So, as all of this is going on, Tyra's also breaking barriers. In 1996, she's the first Black woman to appear on the cover of GQ,

and in 1997, she becomes the first Black model to appear solo on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Basically, in under a decade, before she's even 25 years old, Tyra has gone from high school student to full-on supermodel and trailblazer. Really impressive. Also, can you imagine, like, being that young and, like, doing all of these things

and, like, getting all of those accolades? It was a time, too, so we didn't have social media. And, you know, the type of modeling that they were doing, where, you know, now a lot of people are models on Instagram, no shade. When you're, like, surrounded by Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford and Evangelista, you see these supermodels rise in a way

where you see women making money and becoming household names. It was iconic. It was very iconic. Plus, where were all these body positivity people? I ate a chicken breast for six months straight with cabbage and a gallon of water, and I was like 120 pounds. There was no body positivity people at that time. I needed you then.

We all did. Yeah, seriously. Like, there was a time where it was bad to have a big butt. Like, that was like an insult if you had a big butt. They would be like, get out of here, fat ass. Can I say ass? I was like, yeah, ass. And they would be literally talking about your ass.

And it was like, now it's like everybody's injecting their butt. It's wild. Well, Miss Tyra, she doesn't want to just be a supermodel. She is incredibly ambitious and wants to be a multimedia mogul and businesswoman. One producer who works with her says that she wants to be the next Oprah.

Very big shoes to fill. So from the very beginning, Tyra's looking for ways to expand her career. It's really difficult to make a long-term career out of modeling, and there are so many cases of women being forced out of the industry when they are still very, very young. Basically, Tyra doesn't want to put all of her eggs

in one basket, especially when that basket has a track record of leaving women over the age of 25 high and dry. Only Naomi can model to the grave. Okay? Only Naomi. Yeah, I left because of that. First of all, I developed a really bad eating disorder. I was anorexic.

Being 5'11", I was told by an agent in Miami, and one of the bigger agencies that rep me, that could I get down from 117 to 100 pounds. And I was like, uh, what do you want me to lose, my breast fat? Like, I have nothing else to give. But I realized that, you know, you have to become something else, otherwise you're just a walking hanger.

There are hundreds of girls on the runway whose names you don't know. You know, you know the ones that pop out. Yeah, absolutely. Okay, here's a question. If you were Tyra, what strategies are you going to try to build a career outside of just, like, your one thing, like your modeling work? I feel like you first have to go to something that is adjacent to the brand.

You know what I mean? So if you're a model and you're in beauty, then you have to find something within the beauty industry that you can branch out with and hold on to. I mean, you know, you see Cindy Crawford's... Have you stayed up at 3 a.m. and seen Cindy Crawford selling them melon beauties? What is it, Impossible Beauty? Something like... She's like, I found a melon in the Alps.

Y'all ain't never gonna be able to afford to go over there, but I can bring you this melon, and y'all can look like me. And if a white lady ages well, that's when you really believe it, okay? Like, I love Angela Bassett, but her selling oil of Olay ain't getting it for me. I'm like, you got melanin, sis, that's genetics. But this white lady aging well, I'm like, okay,

give me that Impossible Beauty melon, we'll give it a go. What do I do with it? Yes. I think the journey is for a lot of people who've been models, they get stigmatized as being basic and not intelligent. And I think there's always this pushback where some of the models who are okay with, don't care about that, they're like,

we'll do makeup, we'll do beauty products, we'll do fashion. But Tyra went to school and was like, I'm gonna go to Harvard. Her company went from being Ti-Ti Baby to Bankable Productions. I know that's right. I'm smart too. I can be the next Oprah.

I can do a talk show. I'm smart. I'm gonna bring my nemesis, Naomi Campbell on and ask her why she was mean to me. BOWEN LAUGHS Well, one way Tyra branches out from modeling is by getting into acting. And she appears in movies. She makes guest appearances like On the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

as a romantic interest for Will Smith. We've actually got a clip of one of these guest spots. So, let's take a look. That's it. I didn't come all the way here from Philly to here. Oh, well, this is gonna happen to you. Don't meet all up in my crib. Don't meet all up in McGill. Excuse me! Excuse me! You know what? You ain't never gonna change!

I'm getting the last word! Oh, no, you're not! Oh, yes, I am! Damn! Okay, so how would you rate Tyra's acting chops on a scale from one to Meryl? Okay, we have to remember this is multicam, it's the 90s. So, you know, she was giving what the girls were giving

on multicam in the 90s. It's gonna be a little big and melodramatic, but I don't mind that. I was entertained, and that was what it was about. I agree with you. I think she fulfilled the assignment. -♪ Pfft. -♪ Well, Tyra's working hard to make sure that she has options.

And in 2003, her career goes to the next level when she co-creates and becomes host and executive producer of a little show called America's Next Top Model. So are we fans? Looking back, like television in that era was just problematic in general. Yes. But I was very much here for it. It was like Janis Dickinson just being frozen and bitchy.

But yeah, I loved it. I learned so much. But also, she was real wild on this show. It was like she was recreating the abuse that she experienced. I agree. It was triggering for me. I didn't watch the show with frequency.

But I will tell you, there ain't no such thing as smizing. I was like, you know what? I love when somebody just make up some random shit and capitalize on it. I'd smize. You there ain't no, that's just how you look. You know how many years we spent trying to smize? Ain't nobody ever looked at a picture like,

do you see how she's smizing? This is iconic. Really? Have I been scammed? Because I've been trying to smize my whole life. I really thought I was doing it. Wait, hold on. Ooh.

Uh-huh. 10 out of 10. You see that? Marketing. That's it. OK, so for the listeners who might not know what smize is and who couldn't see Lacey, give us an example of it. Smize is the mashup between smiling and eyes.

So it's basically smiling with your eyes. It's the fierce look Tyra loves in a photo. I think I was smizing. Rebrand it. Rebrand it. Let me smanger. Ha-ha-ha! Not smanger. I'm about to make my own word, smanger. We see the smanger in her eyes. Easy! Just use Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job post seen on other job sites.

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to get your jobs more visibility at indeed.com slash podkatzca. Just go to indeed.com slash podkatzca right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need. Well, America's Next Top Model, albeit with some problems, is a massive hit and it becomes the most popular show on the CW network.

And it's not just huge in America. Dozens of different countries wind up making their own spin-off versions of the show. As executive producer of America's Next Top Model, Tyra is incredibly hands-on. She has high standards for the show, and she comes up with the ideas for photo shoots, she works with the show's stylist

who personally approved contestants' looks, and she works long hours to get things to where she expects them to be. But there's also a negative side to Tyra's extremely high standards. Contestants on the show talk about feeling manipulated and exploited by Tyra and the show in the drive to get bigger and bigger ratings.

And there are even cases of models getting injured while doing challenges for the show, or even just getting their makeup done. I think the tricky thing when a show becomes successful is that you want to keep the momentum going, and that creates a certain amount of fear. And so when that fear comes into play, you start making decisions that may not be the best

or are from, you know, a place of panic. And so she's pushing people further and further to get television ratings. These are now props and pawns and what Ida said earlier, like hangers, like she started treating them like hangers. And so she's like, y'all gotta do all this stuff so that my show can continue to be successful. And now you're not seeing the humanity of the people

that you're working with anymore. I agree. I think it's a very interesting thing to watch being where I am in my career and being in the presence of people who ascend to this, like, superstar status. I think it's very interesting to see those people behave the very same way they complain that people treated them. You know, I saw Tyra Banks cry because she said Naomi Campbell was so mean to her.

And then to turn around and be a mean girl to some of those innocents that were coming, just out of sheer adoration. You know, I try my very best to treat people the way I want to be treated. And you can't forget that when you get an HBO special or a TV show or a book, that's when it's most important, because that's when you have more impact on more people.

So, America's Next Top Model, it could not be a bigger deal for Tyra. It truly makes her into an icon, but once again, she's not going to rest on her laurels. As we know, she's driven, she's ambitious, and she wants to continue to diversify her portfolio, which seems to me to be a more businessy way of saying that she's basically just going to throw business ideas at the wall to see what will stick.

In 2004, she tries to break into the music industry and she drops a single and a music video for her very own song, Shake Ya Body. She also then makes contestants on America's Next Top Model do a challenge to promote the single and makes them appear in the song's music video. -♪ Shake your body, body, move your body, body... -♪ I forgot about it.

-♪ Tell somebody, body to buy my album. -♪ -♪ Mm-mm. -♪ LAUGHS Yes, Tyra is hoping that if Shake Your Body is a hit, it will be her ticket to making a full album, but rather than launching her singing career, it becomes a weird, it will be her ticket to making a full album. But rather than launching her singing career, it becomes a weird, nearly forgotten piece of bonus material for America's Next Top Model. Even Tyra looks back on her attempt to become a pop star

as a huge mistake. It was a JLo thing. It was everybody was like, if she can do it, I can do it. Everybody was trying to do that JLo thing. Mm-hmm. Now, we're also seeing some of our other queens, like, really take from do it, I can do it. Everybody was trying to do that J-Lo thing. Mm-hmm. Now, we're also seeing some of our other queens, like, really take from Tyra's playbook here, because, like, RuPaul's Drag Race is like,

it is a huge self-promotion for Ms. RuPaul. You know what I mean? She always got a new song, that she's having the girls lip sync. Yes. So, thanks, Tyra. But this flop doesn't slow Tyra down. After all, basically, every celebrity

made a completely cringe-worthy music video in the early 2000s. Remember, it's the era of Paris Hilton's Love is Blind? This is when I was consuming all the media. Yes. Even when the stars are blind. I mean, that was kind of cute. That was a kind of cute one. Even when the stars are blind. I mean, that was, it was kind of cute.

That was a kind of cute one. Yeah. And then she left it alone. Well, in 2005, Tyra gets her very own talk show, the Tyra Banks show, which goes on to win two Emmys. So that's not a flop. It did. She also retires from modeling,

which means that the pressure is going to be on for Tyra to expand into new fields. But everything seems to be coming up Tyra at this point. So what could possibly go wrong? Well, in 2011, Tyra launches her next venture. It's a project called Model Land. What do you think Model Land is? TIA LAUGHS

Sorry, that was an evil laugh. Oh, no, no, I know what it is. It's a book. Oh! It's a book because we had it at school. I've read parts of Model Land. She was trying to be the next J.K. Rowling child. What is going on? All right, everybody buckle up for this saga of Model Land. She was trying to be the next J.K. Rowling child. What is going on?

All right, everybody buckle up for this saga of Model Land. Yes, Lacey, you are correct. Model Land is actually a young adult novel. In 2010, she signs a three-book deal with Delacorte Press. But what is Model Land actually about? Well, the plot of the book is ridiculously complicated. Even the Amazon page seems to have a hard time explaining it. Ida and Lacey, can you go back and forth doing a dramatic reading of this book's summary from Amazon? Ida, can you start?

Ida No one gets in without being asked. And with her untamable hair, large forehead, and gawky body, Tukey de la Creme isn't expecting an invitation. Model Land, the exclusive, mysterious place on top of the mountain, never dares to make an appearance in her dreams. But someone has plans for Tookie before she can blink, her mismatched eyes... Eyes mismatched too? Okay. Tookie finds herself in the very place

every girl in the world obsesses about, and three unlikely girls have joined her. Gato corrido con mucho miedo y unas botas, el campo de botas altas. And listen, if you don't speak Spanish, you still understood as much as we do. Don't worry about that. Okay. That's the gag. That is the gag. No lo falló también, pero if you don't.

Oh my gosh, that was really good. Yeah. I don't know. No! Oh my gosh, that was really good. Yeah. I read it in English and I was like, maybe if I think it in Spanish, I'll understand it. Yeah, no, no, no, I don't think so. Why she got a B name, Tookie? That's given like, is this like a slave drama?

I don't know. There are so many more weird details in this book. Like, countries in this alternate universe are called things like didgeridoo and cappuccino, instead of Australia and Italy, I'm assuming. Tookie also has a multiple personality disorder. And I'm sorry, but this does not sound like the book that's going to have a sensitive,

nuanced take on mental health. So, there are also characters in the book called Intoxabellas. And they're basically this world's version of supermodels. And these Intoxabella supermodels also have superpowers. Of course, because this book isn't already complicated enough. And to learn more about these superpowers, of course, because this book isn't already complicated enough. And to learn more about these superpowers, let's play a game. So I am going to tell you one of the Intoxabella's powers,

and you have to guess what that power involves. So the first power is called multiplicity. What's the power? It's like you could split up into different, like versions of yourself, like you can make lots of you. -♪ Pfft. -♪ BOTH LAUGHING An army of models, intoxibellas. But it's all you.

Ding, ding, ding. Yeah, that's exactly what it was. It was the power allowed the intoxibellas to make copies of themselves. I cheated a little bit, because I think I read some of this. I didn't buy it, but somebody had it at school. And I just want to know what publisher was like,

yes, Tyra, you know what, let's send it to print. Like, nobody... I know somebody edited it. They weren't like, y'all, we really doing this? You know, I think it's so funny, they can become all the people so they can go get the Cover Girl thing, and then they can get the Levi's ad, and they can get this, and nobody else can get another job. BOTH LAUGH That's what Tyra was doing when she had them 25 shows

in one year. She was an intoxicabella. She kept showing up, taking everybody's job. Uh-huh. All right, the next superpower is called... Excite to Buy. Oh. Ida? We have such an unhealthy relationship

with capitalism right now, as our world burns. So, Excite to Buy is being able to determine what is a good price, because I would hate for it to just be excited to go shopping, so... Well, it's the power to get people to want to buy things. Oh, okay, being the devil. All right. I knew it.

How much of this book did I read? I know. I never bought it. I think we read it as a joke, because it was so bad. And people would just read it, you know, at the cafeteria in the morning before, you know, during breakfast. All right, we have one more, and it's a doozy. This superpower is called 30 Never.

That sounds nice. Like a power of youth. Basically. I mean, it's exactly what it sounds like. That power allows an intoxicabella, when they're about to turn 30, to go back to how they looked at the age of 17. Is R. Kelly in that chapter? Oh!

Oh, no. -♪ It's a good time to get drunk, right? -♪ Yeah. Well, Tyra, she also once again ropes in contestants on America's Next Top Model to help her with promotion and she makes them do a challenge that revolves around the book. So let's take a look at the video that was the result of that challenge. And Lacey, if you want to describe what we're seeing while we watch. Sure. So this is Tyson Begford caressing Tyra's lips.

Oh, she bites him. She's sucking his finger. She's also dressed like a woodland nymph. I'm war. I'm turkey. You're melism. I'm tiki. I'm isa.

The models are like all hugging walls and they're crying. Okay. And then Tyra's got some, like, nymph makeup on, and she has all the models hugging walls and crying and, like, looking doe-eyed into the camera, and they're like, -♪ I'm Allison and I'm Tookie. Like, it's like, everybody's Tookie. You're Tookie. Like, what? That was demonic.

It was demonic. It's giving cult. Also, you know, it's like, it's that, I'm getting mad, because that Spike Lee moment at the end of Malcolm X, when he said, everybody says, I am Malcolm X. I am Malcolm X. Now it's been appropriated by all this foolishness. Ain't none of them white girls tooky. Not none of them.

It's also hilarious to hear a white girl be like, and I'm tooky. Like, what? What are we, and I'm tooke. Like, what are we doing? I'm Kaylee. And I'm tooke. But also, you know, Tyra had that race mixing episode, so, Chas, she'll do it. She will.

Even Tyson was amazed in that. Did you see how surprised he was? He was like, oh, I didn't know she was going to suck my finger. Suck my thumb. And then she sucked it, but was like, oh, shit, I didn't know she was gonna suck my finger. Suck my thumb. And then she sucked it, but then like, looked up like weird, I don't know what she was trying to give.

I'm confused. But wait a minute, I just wanted for clarity. That was a promo to promote a young adult novel? Yes. Oh. Well, one review calls the book campy and warped, overlong, and a nonstop barrage of surrealism. Another calls it tacky, predictable, and superficial.

And yet another says it's a nonsensical, nightmarish acid trip that seemed like it would never end. So, as you might have guessed based on those reviews, Tyra's three-book deal wound up going bust after just one of those books. So I guess Excite to Buy isn't one of Tyra's supermodel superpowers when it comes to this book. That was great. That's a great callback.

Yeah. Thank you, thank you. And it's actually a little bit of a problem for Tyra that Model Land is such a bust. At this point in her career, her portfolio is starting to get a little bit of a problem for Tyra that model land is such a bust. At this point in her career, her portfolio is starting to get a little bit slimmer. In 2010, her talk show, The Tyra Banks Show gets canceled and it's looking like America's Next Top Model might not be around that much longer either.

But Tyra has another great idea for a business and it's one that should actually be good. She should be an expert in it. She's going to start her own cosmetics line called Tyra Beauty. Tyra Beauty, I already know because I never saw it that... Ooh. Yeah.

Well, in September of 2015, Tyra launches Tyra Beauty. And Tyra describes the new company this way, quote, I am charged with shaking up the world of beauty. Anyone can join our crew of badass entrepreneurs. Now on her website, Tyra also writes, my goal is to help you be the CEO of your life. Not at MLM. You can start your own business

by selling Tyra Beauty products. I am galvanizing a community of entrepreneurs called Beauty Taners. So she took the Avon lady and then turned it into Beauty Taners? Beauty Taners. She came from Mary Kay, Avon. This is an MLM.

Tyra, if things aren't working out, the next step is not like light fraud. What? Diet crime? Light fraud. Yeah. I mean, while MLMs are not technically a crime or fraud, I do think that they're pretty sketchy. So, some of the products the beauty-tainers will be selling include Smy's eyeshadow, Oops! eyeliner, and a brow pen called Menage-a-Brow.

Uh-huh, yeah. So, according to Tyra, her beauty-tainers are gonna sell products by throwing fierce parties at their homes and online. Basically, rather than just selling products in stores, Tyra Beauty works by recruiting people to sell the products to their friends and family members. People who have already signed up to sell are, get ready for it, also encouraged to recruit their friends

and family to become salespeople. Shocker. Shocker. Because I've always wanted to buy, like, eyeliner from my nail tech or, you know... My cousin that I haven't seen in six years. That's definitely where I want to buy my eyeliner and my blush. Yeah, yeah. I mean, my very first job was selling cutco, so I'm very... Okay, you went door to door knives.

You cannot do that in this age. I can't believe there was an age where you could go around with knives and go door to door and be like, hey, I have a lot of knives, let me into your home. Like, why was that a thing? That sounds very dangerous. Yeah, no, give me a piece of fruit

and let me show you how these knives work. Like, I'm not letting a knife man in my home. No. No. I guarantee you, they thought that all these people that were watching the show were gonna be the soldiers, and they were gonna take on the Mary Kay, old white ladies that drive the pink Volvo, and they were just gonna dismantle that system

with this new age of new blood, but these younger people who would do that, they're not messing with you, because they don't... You're like, that's the mean lady from the modeling show, you know? Yeah. I don't know why she didn't just go direct to market, she could've been the first one before now.

Everybody got a lip liner, a lip chap, lipstick, eye cream. You know, she could've really used her name and trail braids in that in a way that was professional and actually viable. It's like you got makeup put on your face for the past, like, 30 years. You should know some things about makeup. And what they lack and what they need, that other people don't. And you could have did that.

And instead you decided to shill some BS and have your fans do it for you and rope in other people? Like, that's disappointing. That's giving you don't care about your base. You know, when you think about it, there are the people who are revolutionary and the people who are entrep... that are entrepreneurs that wanna be...

they wanna be thought leaders and they wanna chip culture, and then there are just the people who wanna make money. And, you know, you gotta determine which one you wanna be. And the only time I've ever seen a celebrity put their name on some random ass shit and just sell it as their name and it was good... The George Foreman Grill. Okay? That was a lean, mean grilling machine, okay?

-♪ Like many MLMs, Tyra Beauty involves some practices that do seem a little shady to me. So, beauty-tainers have to pay $59 just for the privilege of selling Tyra's products. And in their first 30 days, they have to sell $150 worth of products, alluding to what you were just talking about. Beauty-tainers are also required to sign a six-page contract that includes a one-year non-disparagement clause. So if you've had a bad time as a beauty tainer, Tyra doesn't want you to be able

to go and talk about it online. Beauty tainers also only get 25% of the money from the items they sell. Also, in case you were still on the fence about just how questionable this all is, the website also features this disclaimer. Tyra Beauty does not promise or guarantee that beauty-tainers will generate any income. It's right there, out loud. Imagine you going on deed,

and they got a job offer, and they said, look, we don't guarantee you're gonna make any money on this job, but come on down, sign up, apply. What? Hey, Lacey, don't you feel like, well, we started this podcast, we liked Tyra Banks, and now we like, let's go get her! Let's go get her!

We gotta get her off the streets. She's the minister of society. Yeah. I thought I liked her. Well, despite all of these red flags, when Tyra Beauty launches, more than 1,000 people sign up to become beauty-tainers. And in many ways, the worst part about all of this

is how Tyra Beauty depends on younger women being roped into the business because, what? They trust Tyra's name and personal brand. Tyra makes herself a big part of why people want to sign up. For example, beauty-tainers who make it to platinum level get to have dinner with Tyra. This reminds me of when I used to sell like the school would make you sell like a catalog with like popcorn and like random stuff in it and then then if you sold like $20,000, you get a razor scooter.

Like, what? So, Tyra, she is going all in on Tyra Beauty MLM. Because she really needs this to succeed, because in 2015, America's Next Top Model gets canceled. So instead of diversifying her portfolio, that portfolio is shrinking more and more by the day. And Tyra Beauty is about to hit a major speed bump, which means another major blow to Tyra's side hustle dreams. So what do you think winds up being

the big problem? Any, any guesses? The product is bad. Well, probably. Is giving a habeas corpus giving lawsuit? No. Ironically enough, the thing that winds up ruining another one of Tyra's side business dreams is not the MLM business model. It's the fact that Tyra Beauty stops being an MLM. Hmm. Yeah.

In May of 2017, Tyra announces that Tyra Beauty is going to switch to retail sales. And the beauty-tainers who put their faith in Tyra, they're not happy about this because they just lost their job. They're out of work. On Facebook, one beauty-tainer writes, I just can't hardly believe what you did to all of us beauty-tainers, as you called us. We worked and struggled and hustled on the daily

for supposedly us, but it was all just for you. Probably doesn't feel good to read those comments for somebody who really loves her ego. Now... I thought you were gonna say fans. No. That's not clearly not. No. Now, the press release announcing the change also says,

over the last year, it has become increasingly clear that there are challenges with the direct sales channel that are simply not compatible with the mission and ultimately the business. Ida, can you translate that for non-business speak? What, that nobody bought the shit? Is that what it was? It was nobody bought it. Nobody bought it? Nobody. Nobody bought it. Nobody bought it. Cause I didn't even know about it. Per my last email, it means the business is in big trouble. While the press release says the company will still sell Tyra Beauty products online, it seems like Tyra Beauty has not just gone from direct sales to retail sales. It seems like they've gone from any sales to no sales at all.

Currently, the Tyra Beauty website is completely shut down, and the number one spot to buy Tyra Beauty products online right now seems to be... China! No. Tmoo? No. Not even Tmoo. No.

Aftermarket resale. eBay. Beauty products expire, so... What the inventory is looking like? I don't know. I don't want 2015 eyeliners. Those are just... That's just souvenirs. I mean, it sounds like a, like, I have been praying to God prior to speaking this moment,

because I want to make sure that I always say this from the best place. I feel like one of those models on America's Next Top Model that she was mean to did the Whoopi Goldberg from The Color Purple and said, too, you do right by me, everything you touch gonna crumble. Well, karma's gonna get her, because Tyra Beauty blew up right in her face,

and that's one way to get your Tyra Beauty makeup smudged, hun. But this time, she also managed to alienate some of her biggest fans. You know, the people who didn't mind being in an MLM as long as Tyra was running it. But Tyra knows just what to do to get back on track, guys. She's going to return to the world of her book, Model Land. But she's not going to be writing another entry in the series. Sorry, Tyra, that three-book deal is still not coming back.

No, she's got something even bigger planned. Tyra's going to make a theme park. Jesus, take the wheel. Baby Boo, you are not Dolly Parton. No. Sorry. And Dolly Parton gives to you are not Dolly Parton. No, sorry. And Dolly Parton gives to the community. Dolly Parton be buying out books for the children and whatnot. Like, you're not Dolly Parton, you can't make Dolly land.

She's the only one. Let it go. So in 2022, Tyra launches Model Land in a shopping mall in Santa Monica. And Tyra describes it as an immersive experience. Side note, if something says immersive experience, run in the opposite direction. Yeah. So she also says it's Disney meets fashion, beauty, and self-esteem.

So Model Land is 10,000 square feet, though it was originally supposed to be twice that size. At Model Land, visitors are taken through a series of rooms like the runway room, the model school, and the dance studio, and are given advice on how to take selfies and find your angles by posing professionals. So, yeah, regular tickets are $35, but VIP access tickets go for $225. VIP access tickets go for $225. Warning, if you spend the extra on those VIP tickets,

it seems like all you get is the ability to cut in line and some kind of extra goodie bag, though you don't get to know what's in the goodie bag. The motif seems to be, we don't give a damn about the average consumer. We're just gonna try to get as much money as possible off my name until y'all realize that this is a bull and then we're gonna move on to something else. And you can't do that, you can't continue to do that

because then eventually your reputation is tarnished and then your name means, like, we're not showing up. Here's something else that might tempt you to visit. Modeland also sells Tyra's very own brand of ice cream. No. I know, that's right. Tyra's got yet another side business, an ice cream company called Smize and Dream,

which is a name for an ice cream company. So let me tell you about a few of Smize and Dream's flavors. They've got Wake Up and Smell the Crunchy, which that's coffee ice cream that is somehow infused with cinnamon rolls. Actually, sounds tasty. It kind of sounds good. Yeah, sounds good.

They also have All Night Love, co-designed by Lionel Richie. That's vanilla ice cream with salted caramel, swirls of midnight cookie crumbles, and milk chocolate fudge hearts. And last but not least, purple Cookie Monster. As far as I can tell, that's just regular cookies and cream ice cream, but with purple food coloring. I would want to know the ingredients

and make sure that they weren't recycling the makeup products and trying to make the ice cream. Right. Because why is it purple? Is that that smize eyeshadow? Is that that smile, it's eyeshadow? I think that's what it is. I know. I mean, isn't it enough to open a theme park without having to make ice cream for it too?

It's a lot. Can we stop calling this a theme park? You sure? This is not a theme park. 10,000 square feet? Yeah. You're gonna start a change.org petition. You're like, we are taking back the theme park. This is a a theme park. 10,000 square feet? Yeah. You're gonna start a change.org petition. You're like, we are taking back the theme park. This is a haunted house.

Yeah. And it's not even a big one. Uh, especially for lactose intolerant people. Yeah. Hello? So, Model Land initially did make a big splash with a lot of publicity, but it wound up quietly closing down after garnering only two measly reviews on Yelp. She probably lost a lot of money

on that little side business. Sorry, Ty. TIA I hope she's getting residuals from Top Model or something. TIA Or something. The Model Land website is still up, so you can take a look and check out a little bit of what you're missing, but tickets are no longer on sale. It's another utterly embarrassing failure for Tyra. So, I mean, it seems like the harder she tries to make these side projects happen and the more side projects she tries to start, the bigger they wind up flopping. But maybe the best way to sum up the failures of all of Tyra's side hustles comes from Tyra herself. In 2014, on an episode of Watch What Happens Live, she delivered some real words of wisdom.

Lacey, could you do a dramatic reading of this Tyra quote? Let me just do a public service announcement right now. My name is Tyra Banks, and I'm here to tell you that you may have a dream. You may have something that burns inside of your heart and desire, but if you do not have the talent for it, boo, let it go. We are not rooting for you. Rooting for you. -♪ BOTH LAUGHINGah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha that they have to see in society while you're chilling, you know? Is it not enough to have a successful TV show run, have a successful modeling career, to be a Victoria's Secret model, an angel,

to be able to have to be the cover girl, to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated? Is that not enough? And then tell everybody else you can't sit with us? It's just... It just... It makes me sad. Because it doesn't come from a place, a good place. It doesn't come from confidence. It just comes from whatever wound that is,

but it's just not cool. Also, what do you mean if you don't have the talent? You'll never know until you try. And a lot of times when you try things at the beginning, you're bad at them. And then, if you stick with it, you make it better. Now, I do talk about this in my book. You gotta know when to pivot. There are things that were not my calling.

And I tried them, and then I was like, this not my, the phone I'm ringing, this not my calling. So that's, but that's okay. It's such a shame to see such a beautiful woman not spread beauty into the world. I mean, obviously, I'm a product of Tyra Banks. Like, she did things to me that I didn't know she did

until it came on the show. -♪ It's a good thing that I'm here to be a part of it. -♪ So, here on The Big Flop, we try to be positive people and end on a high. So, are there any silver linings that you can think of that came from Tyra Banks, but specifically, all of these little side hustles? So are there any silver linings that you can think of that came from Tyra Banks, but specifically all of these little side hustles?

I mean, I learned how to put on my makeup. I learned that as a performer, especially in the beginning, I had to travel with, I still do it on a set that is not my own. And I also learned from Tyra that it's okay to be extra. Tyra was out here acting a damn fool and there's a plethora of things.

There's so many things you could go into that she has done to harm people. And so those things I don't sit with. Tyra, you'll always be a beautiful woman. I hope that inside starts to match that outside, because maybe... no. I mean, someone who was scouted at the age of 14, and from a very young age, I was told that there was something wrong

with the way I was shaved because I was curvy. I did look to her for inspiration. And so I still commend and respect the legacy of having to fight our way through and becoming a force in the producer world. A lot of times we think that we gotta fight our, we gotta fight through everything. We just don't realize who we're fighting against,

that we need to be punching up, not down. But I will say that I respect her. I respect that she was able to pivot from a modeling career into this television reality force. And I hope that the good stuff that Tyra Banks has done inspires young Black and brown women and all women to go out and do great things. Yeah. Yeah, I love that so much. Also, she did coin the term smize, which I believe is a legit important contribution to the English language. Okay?

Absolutely. Misha's not forgetting smanger, okay? It's the thing. Okay, you know, with Lacey's, smanger, you're right. It's catching on. I've heard people talking about it. It's taking the world by storm already. It's the number one trend on blue sky. So now that you both know about Tyra Banks, the world famous supermodel who just cannot stop trying out new side hustles,

would you consider her many rando business ventures Baby Flops, Big Flops, or Mega Flops? Because of the size of Tyra Banks Rando Business Ventures, baby flops, big flops, or mega flops? Because of the size of Tyra Banks as a figure in this world and her, like all over the world, you know, her stature, her fame, and the things that she's accomplished, I'm gonna have to call these big flops

because you putting a big name on something that is just rinky dink, and I don't understand why she did that. Yeah. I would call them big flops, not mega flops, because I didn't know about some of them. So they weren't that, you know, they didn't make that much of an impact.

I think like Donald Trump has mega flops, because everybody knows about the books and they know about the stakes. But I would call them big flops. And, you know, you put them on a TV show that has so much viewership and they still don't do well. There's something wrong. Yeah. I would say big. Well, thank you so much to America's Top Podcast guests,

Ida Rodriguez and Lacey Mosley, for joining us here on The Big Flop. And, of course, thanks to all of you for listening and watching. If you're enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review. We'll be back next week for an episode I'm positive you've all been waiting for.

Here, kitty kitty, it's COVID lockdown celeb and overall villain Joe Exotic, AKA the Tiger King. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. If you like the big flop, you can listen early and ad free on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music.

Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey. The Big Flop is a production of Wondery and At Will Media, hosted by Misha Brown, produced by Sequoia Thomas, Harry Huggins, and Tina Turner, written by Anna Rubinova and Luke Burns, engineered by Zach Rapone, with support from Andrew Holzberger.

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