‘Dancing With the Stars’ Host Tyra Banks Reportedly ‘Not Worried’ About Being Fired Despite Critics

Tyra Banks‘ tenure on Dancing With the Stars has gotten off to a rocky start, to say the least, but the former America’s Got Talent host is reportedly “not worried” about losing her job. Even before the season started, fans were shocked to see her replace Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews, and have continued criticizing her performance. Banks has already vowed to do better, despite a major on-air flub during the Oct. 5 episode.

“The ratings for DWTS are up and Tyra is not worried about losing or fighting to save her job,” a source close to Banks told E! News on Friday. The insider noted that the executive producers behind the show “love” the two-time Emmy winner’s performance. “She tunes out the noise and doesn’t listen to social media critiques,” the source added, noting that Banks previously dealt with critics when she took over America’s Got Talent. “She knows how to handle haters and she has her whole career,” the source told E! News. “She’s a pro.”

Banks first responded to critics after the DWTS Season 29 premiere in a post-show TikTok video. She admitted she “wasn’t perfect” and she “said the wrong words,” but she vowed to keep going. She compared her hosting performance to competitor Skai Jackson’s first dance. “I messed up this week, Skai messed up this week, but we’re gonna keep on going and going,” Banks said. “Forgive yourself when you mess up and keep going.”

However, Banks made another critical error during the Oct. 5 episode, when she announced the wrong couples who reached the bottom two. Banks told fans the wrong names were on the cards she was given and producers insisted it was not Banks’ fault. “It’s live television, things like this happen, especially with information coming in from all over the country, voting and calculating in such a small amount of time,” judge Bruno Tonioli told Entertainment Tonight, adding that Banks’ cue cards were different from the information producers in the control room were giving her. Tonioli said Banks handled the situation brilliantly noting, “She was really good because she took control of the situation.”

At the beginning of the Oct. 13 episode, Banks addressed the situation again, assuring fans that there were no mistakes in voting results, and the right celebrities in the bottom two – Anne Heche and Monica Aldama – matched the voting. “Make no mistake, all your votes were definitely counted, and the correct bottom two couples were named,” Banks explained. “However, what you did no see was that there was a technical issue behind-the-scenes that caused the names on my cards to be listed incorrectly.” The Oct. 13 episode went on without a hitch for Banks, who will be hosting live from the ballroom again on Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.