John Oliver is going viral for mocking Dancing With the Stars host Tyra Banks in a recent episode of his show. In Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, the host tackles the homelessness epidemic. Throughout the show, he takes shots at Banks, most notably her episode on homelessness from her former UPN daytime talk show. The show aired from 2005-2010. Banks won a Daytime Emmy for the show, beating Dr. Phil and The Doctors.
“We are, by no means, the first show to cover this subject. Many have tried, and perhaps none more memorably than the criminally canceled Tyra Banks Show,” he said before a clip cut to Banks’ segment on homelessness. When the clip ends, Oliver’s roast continues. “There is so much going on there, but I want to focus on Franklin’s face,” he says of a teen smiling when Banks, portraying a homeless woman, stops to greet the teenager. “That is the face of a kid who’s definitely figured out the secret identity of a woman who has a camera crew, looks like Tyra Banks, and introduces herself by saying, ‘Hi, My name is Tyra.’”
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Later in the clip, he takes more jabs at Banks. He shows another clip of Banks’ show as a way to “make up” for wasting viewers’ time with his lengthy rant of why homelessness is an issue and how to solve it. In the clip, Banks scares audience members by portraying what appears to be an animal foaming at the mouth. “There is some context for that, but the truth is it honestly wouldn’t make it make more sense,” he adds.ย
In a 2006 episode of The Tyra Banks Show the former supermodel spent a day living as a homeless person. She says she was inspired by The Pursuit of Happyness movie. In the episode, she warned her audience members and viewers watching at home: “Believe it or not, being homeless can happen to you. I thought the best way to bring this story to all of you was to experience it myself.”ย
While living as a homeless person for a day, Banks donned a knit hat, a flannel top, and oversized pants. She explained having to understand that as a homeless person, one cannot pick and choose what they want to wear due to lack of resources. She also said she had to be as selective as possible, considering some of the living conditions and areas homeless people are subjected to.
“I was instructed to wear very thick boots, because where we’re going, there’s a lot of dirty needles from heroin use and there’s a possibility that a needle could go through my foot,” she said. She enlisted the help of a former homeless woman to “guide” her throughout the experience for the day, saying, “I wanted to experience firsthand the desperation of the homeless. I wanted to understand what their lives are really like.”
