‘Dancing With the Stars’ Host Tyra Banks Responds to Haters With Cheeky Clapback

Tyra Banks is no stranger to being in the public eye as a TV host, starring in her own daytime talk show and emceeing America’s Got Talent before taking to the ABC ballroom earlier this month as the new host of Dancing With the Stars. Replacing beloved hosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews hasn’t been easy, however, and the model certainly has haters criticizing her performance during the first three weeks of Season 29.

Banks isn’t letting anyone get her down, however, explaining on Global’s The Talk her strategy in dealing with trolls. “I think anybody that is in entertainment, you are at the mercy of the opinion of others,” she said, as per Entertainment Tonight Canada. “Back in the day, it was just critics and reviews, and now it is everyone that is a critic. I always say kind of acknowledge it, but then kind of push it back, because 99.9% of the people that are saying something negative and pushing send, don’t even really remember they sent it.”

She continued, “I also don’t really read it. I just read ratings… the ratings are amazing and we’re bringing so many new people. So, that’s like the meter we look at.” Dancing With the Stars’ Season 29 premiere did bring in the highest ratings for the show in four seasons, despite the backlash the show got after announcing in July it would be going in a “new creative direction” by replacing Bergeron and Andrews.

“Tom Bergeron will forever be part of the Dancing With the Stars family,” the network said in a statement. “As we embark on a new creative direction, he departs the show with our sincerest thanks and gratitude for his trademark wit and charm that helped make this show a success. Erin will also not be returning, and we appreciate all that she brought to the ballroom. Fans have been rooting for her since she originally competed as a contestant back in 2010, and her signature sense of humor has become a hallmark of the show.”

Explaining the choice in a press junket earlier this week, executive producer Andrew Llinares said it was a “brilliant” move designed to help the show feel “fresh” while “not alienating anyone who’s been watching the show for many, many years,” as per TVLine. “I think it’s really refreshed the pace of the show,” Llinares added. “There’s a real danger, when a show’s been on for a long time, that the audience almost gets bored of the rhythm of it. It’s changed the rhythm of the show in a really exciting way [to have Banks hosting solo]. Tyra’s doing an amazing, amazing job.”