Below Deck chef and former America’s Next Top Model contestant Rachel Hargrove is getting slammed on Twitter after body-shaming Tyra Banks in a since-deleted tweet referring to Hargrove’s time on the modeling reality show.
Hargrove Slams Banks For ‘Plus Size’ Comment
“Hey @Tyrabanks remember when you called me a plus size model when I was a size 2?” Hargrove tweeted, attaching a paparazzi photo of Banks. Banks conceived and hosted ANTM, which was a huge hit. However, as viewers today look back on the show, Banks and the rest of the judges have gotten called out for things they did or said about the aspiring models.
While Hargrove’s comment about being called a plus-size model at size 2 was a fair criticism, many are calling her out for hypocritically body shaming Banks in her tweet. Hargrove did delete her initial tweet, but she continued to defend herself.
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“I’ve had alot [sic] of former cast reach out to me and tell me about how the show caused them to have body dysmorphic disorders… so that’s why I made my comment,” she responded to one tweet.
In another tweet, Hargrove wrote, “I have every right to let the world know how that show tried to make you feel bad about yourself. Even other girls from the show were belittled not just me.”
However, one eagle-eyed fan pointed out that Banks was not the one to make the comment about Hargrove’s size. Instead, it was fellow judge Jay Manuel, who told her, “You’d be representing more of a plus size.”
Hargrove’s Time On The Show
Hargrove appeared on Cycle 4 of the modeling competition show. She was recruited by a casting director who approached her while she was working as a bartender in Florida. Before that, the chef claimed she never had any thoughts of modeling.
“I thought, are you f**king high?’” she told Entertainment Tonight of her time on ANTM. “I’m slinging drinks and I’m a kitchen creature, so it wasn’t like, it wasn’t one of those things where I was like, hey, I’m gonna go stand there at this cattle call, but it was kinda cool. They just kind of brought me through, I think it had to do with my personality being just off the wall, so… I don’t know! It was a lot of fun, it was a lot of fun.”
Hargrove is now famous for her work as a private chef on Bravo’s Below Deck, but it’s clear her start on reality TV left a bad taste in her mouth. While the comments made about her body were rude, Hargrove’s body-shaming remarks towards Banks seem hypocritical.