Whoopi Goldberg, Tyra Banks, Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry appear on Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Smartest People in TV, a list of small-screen titans who are driving today’s sharpest shows and deals. Winfrey came in 6th on the tally because “her talk show still rules daytime, her first foray into reality (’Oprah’s Big Give’) averaged 11.6 million viewers, and she’ll launch her own network — appropriately named OWN — in 2009,” said Entertainment weekly. Atlanta-based mogul Perry ranked 4th for proving that “one need not exist within the borders of Hollywood to become an industry heavyweight. Seth MacFarlane, the executive producer of “Family Guy,” “American Dad” and the forthcoming “The Cleveland Show,” topped the list.

Who else do you think belongs on the list?

(Photo by Rob Loud/Getty Images for IMG)

Tyra Banks graces the cover of Ebony Magazine’s December 2008 Issue. Do you like the cover shot?

In related news, Beyonce aka Sasha Fierce will be on Tyra Banks Show which will air tomorrow, November 26th!

Tyra Banks surprises Isis King, the first transgender contestant on America’s Next Top Model, with sex reassignment surgery in an episode of her talk show to air Tuesday.

22-year-old Isis says : “[I feel] like I’m about to wake up. It’s hard. I try not to think about it because it is something I’m really passionate about. I feel like I really was born in the wrong body, and it’s just the one thing that makes me feel uncomfortable.” According to Us Weekly, Tyra Banks will be paying $20,000 to $35,000 for the sex reassignment surgery for Isis King.

Recently the most inspiring women in music, fashion and the arts were honoured with GLAMOUR Women of the Year Awards in association with Aussie Hair Care. Tyra Banks and Condoleeza Rice received an award at the ceremony that was held at Carnegie Hall.

Side Note: Loyal Reader, NeoLeo would appreciate the picture of Rice. He is in love with her!

The other winners were:

TV Personality: Dannii Minogue

UK TV Actress: Keeley Hawes

International Musician: Beth Ditto

Accessories Designer: Tamara Mellon

Entrepreneur: Kate Moss

Film-maker: Jane Goldman

Theatre Actress: Kelly Osbourne

Writer; Cecelia Ahern

Presenter: Fearne Cotton

Editor’s Special: Lily Allen

Radio Personality: Jo Whiley

Aussie Hair Care Newcomer: Hayden Panettiere

UK Solo Artist: Leona Lewis

Comedy Actress: Joanna Page

Band: Spice Girls

Man of the Year: Mark Ronson

Inspiration: Annie Lennox

Film Actress: Kate Beckinsale

source Glamour Magazine

A couple of months ago, we told you about the incident involving former America’s Next Top Model contestant Bianca Golden and her brawl with Hairspray actress Nikki Blonsky in Turks & Caicos. Well, Bianca reunited with Tyra Banks for her tak show to talk about what went down over the summer.

According to People.com, Golden reveals that she and her family were returning home from a reunion for her dying grandfather when they ended up in the same waiting area of the airport as the Blonskys. The fight all began because Blonsky was being “very rude to my aunt,” Golden told Banks. Then an argument started between Blonsky’s and Golden’s families, and Blonsky’s father Carl “punched my mom.”

“He knocked her out,” says Golden. “He hit my mom with such force she stumbled back and when she stumbled back the whole family got up and attacked my mom.”  UN-FRIGGIN-BELIEVABLE!      

Golden reveals that when her mom was on the floor, Nikki “takes her foot and kicks my mom in her vagina, and that’s when my mom fell out completely,” says Golden. “When Nikki kicked my mom I went and grabbed her arm and she grabbed my earring. Her mom sat on her to get her off of me cause her mom saw what was happening and that was that.”       

Golden says her mother was airlifted to the hospital with internal bleeding, a broken nose and a fractured skull.  “Her face is still black and blue,” Golden said.

For more of the interview tune in to the Tyra Bank show on October 8th. T

This is the first time I’m hearing about all the details about the incident from Golden.

How do you feel about this incident? Let us know your thoughts.

Tyra Banks done got her audience PISSED OFF…A recent taping of the Tyra Banks Show got started two hours later than scheduled which had her audience furious because Tyra didn’t even have an excuse for the delay. The taping was for Tyra’s “Celebrating Black Models, Past Present and Future”. An audience member revealed to Page Six that the audience waited more than two hours as Tyra stood backstage giggling, snacking and chatting with the crew. “You could hear her going on and on because she was standing right behind the stage curtain,” said the audience member. “She’s talking and talking. Meanwhile, you have the entire audience waiting almost two hours for the taping to start.”

When Tyra finally came out to begin the show, she didn’t even apologize for the delay and even had an attitude the audience member xposed.”She leaves us waiting, and everyone is sitting there complaining, and then she comes out and doesn’t say a word about it. She didn’t even say hello, she got right into her script,” said the source. “She acted so cold towards everyone. She’s a phony.”

The entire audience, which featured loads of aspiring models, was led outside onto the street for the show’s ending.

“Cops had it closed off, and Tyra had bodyguards,” laughed the spy. “She had the audience prance down the street and then release black balloons. Some were whining that it was so bad for the environment. It was so disorganized, people fell over the press outside and almost trampled two little girls. Tyra was acting like it was a live sporting event instead of the most self-indulgent, narcissistic crap.”
LOL- I guess they were pissed!

Do you think Tyra is phony? Some people do…Let us know what you think.

In celebration of the recent all-black issue of Italian Vogue, Tyra Banks held a fashion show in the streets of New York City (check out the pics). The event which was held of Tuesday was fabulous. Tyra was joined by past, present and future black models for a special taping of her daytime talk show which will air September 11th.

 “Young girls look at magazines and want to see a reflection of themselves and that will tell them that they exist, and that they are beautiful,” Banks said, according to the UK’s Channel 4. “So we need Asians, we need black, we need Latin, we need every culture represented in fashion to show that young girl that she matters, that she exists, and that she is beautiful.” 

Banks posed for pictures with the models before releasing a bunch of balloons into the Manhattan sky. Beautiful!

Selita Ebanks

Noemie Lenior

Beverley Johnson

New Model Chanel Iman…

Do you think black model are overlooked in the Fashion/Modeling Industry?

WOW…how things have changed…The 11th Cycle of America’s Next Top Model will feature the first TRANSSEXUAL contestant. Isis, who is a 22 year old receptionist from Maryland says “My cards were dealt differently”.  Isis identifies herself as “a woman born physically male,” adding that she was “born in the wrong body” and always felt completely female.

The inclusion of Isis is being hailed by GLAAD president Neil Giuliano as “an unprecedented opportunity for a community that is underrepresented on television.

“We applaud Tyra Banks and The CW for making this historic visibility of transgender people possible,” Giuliano said.

When asked if Isis would be a role model on the show, “I like to help people, but I’m here to follow my dreams” she/he says…

America’s Next Top Model Cycle 11 premieres on The CW Network September 3.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS?

Tyra Banks and Ken Mok’s new series called “Stylista” has been approved by The CW. The new reality series follows fashion fans as they compete for a job at Elle magazine. Additionally, CW has renewed “The Game” for its third season. CW will most likely pair the sitcom with “Everybody Hates Chris” on its new Friday schedule. Man do I miss “Girlfriends”!

 “She’s really throwing all her weight behind her talk show,” according to a source familiar with “The Tyra Banks Show.” “She’s putting lots of pressure on her staff to keep her show on the map. She had Barack Obama on, she had Hilary Clinton on — she got a taste of playing with the big boys and now ‘Top Model’ seems to detract from her big plans.”Do you think ANTM would be the same without TYRA as host? Let us hear your opinions!

Tyra Banks will be coming out with a new reality series about a beauty pageant with a twist. ABC is tight lipped as to the details of the show, however, anticipated viewers can expect the show to be a cross between America’s Top Model and Ashton Kutcher’s MTV show “Punk’d”.  The network has ordered eight episodes of the project and production is scheduled to begin in the coming months. Tyra is also working on another CW project in which contestants compete to become assistant editors at a fashion magazine.

The Tyra Banks Show threw a surprise baby shower for Jessica Alba. Alba is expecting her first child with boyfriend Cash Warren. Too Cute! Alba got over $6,000 in gifts, according to MomLogic. MomLogic was responsible for organizing the items. Gifts included a Valco baby stroller, Cariboo bassinet and Bel Bambini toys and clothes, reports People.com. The episode is scheduled to air today. I missed it!

Tyra has a new show coming out on CW…Reps had this to say about it:

“It is a competition show about aspiring assistants looking to become assistant editors at a fashion magazine,” Mok said. “At the same time they’re trying to prove themselves as aspiring fashionistas, that they have a sense of style and savvyness, all the things to make it in the fashion world.”
The show, which the CW unofficially describes as “The Devil Wears Prada” meets “The Assistant,” is eyed as a potential companion piece for “Top Model.” We will keep you posted!

Check out the clip below, Hillary also talks to Tyra about her controversial MLK comment:

Tyra Bank will grace the cover of the February issue of Essence. She looks great! Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the talk show host / model talks about how her life feels unfulfilled since she’s not a mother and not a wife.  Tyra tells Essence:

“I’d go to work and women would be crying in my arms on the talk show. But then I’d go home and put my key in my door and … nothing: no friends, no husband, no children. I feel so full when I’m at work but so empty when I come home.”

The staff of Tyra Banks show are pissed! Tyra Banks’ staffers are disgruntled because they got no Christmas gifts. Most of the staff were asked to move from LA to New York with Tyra where her show is currently located. It’s rumored that Tyra moved her show to New York because she had a boyfriend there. Nevertheless, she negotiated a $30 million dollar deal. Well, Tyra threw a modest holiday party at a lower east side dive bar. One of her employees told media there was no food, just alcohol. According to a source, Tyra arrived for a brief stop, looking like a million bucks, and said she was on her way to Italy. Before she left, she told them “I want to thank you guys for working so hard- – I have a special guest – here’s Santa!” Everybody ran to Santa’s big bag and found it was full of limp McDonald’s cheeseburgers! Employees got cheeseburgers for Christmas! Staffers tore open their burgers, hoping for gift certificates. Nothing. I’m not sure how true this is. But Tyra has some really upset staff members right now. I heard there was also a brawl between two employees after the party. Crazy!

Janice Dickinson didn’t have to many nice things to say about America’s Next Top Model boss Tyra Banks on Monday’s Today show. Dickinson was discussing the recent controversy relative to Jennifer Love Hewitt’s weight gain shown in a tabloid picture of her in a bikini. Well, Dickinson defended, Love Hewitt, calling her “healthy” and “not emaciated.” She then added THIS!: “You want to see someone who’s fat? I’m sorry, Tyra, Tyra Banks is fat. This girl is not fat.” WOW! Can I say hater!, Banks has not commented as of yet.

TBS and TNT, which already have rights to Tyler Perry’s “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” and “Madea’s Family Reunion,” will now gain the TV rights to “Why did I get Married?” and “Daddy’s Little Girls” from the filmmaker in 2009 and 2010. The deal is worth more than $12 million. Go ahead Mr. Perry!