*Tyra Banks, once a celebrated Victoria’s Secret model, recounted a mortifying moment when her prized “Free Angels Card” was declined after she chose not to renew her contract.
As The Blast reports, on the TODAY show, she told Jenna Bush, “I had a Free Angels Card that the head of Victoria’s Secret gave me. They were like, ‘Forever. We love you so much.’” The card allowed unlimited lingerie purchases, which Banks used for every new collection.
When offered a three-year contract extension, Banks declined, prioritizing her talk show ambitions. “I was like, ‘I don’t want to. I want to be a talk show host,’” she said. Victoria’s Secret permitted her to keep the card for one more year, then demanded, “Give it back, baby!”
The revocation stung when Banks attempted a purchase VS items at a store in Los Angeles. “I hate saying this on national TV! I hate saying this,” Banks said. “It was in like a suburb store in Los Angeles off of the freeway. But oh my gosh, guess what happened, Jenna? I don’t match anymore!”
Banks joked, “I’m going to call Victoria’s Secret [and say] give me my card back.”
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“I would do a deal if you gave me my card back,” she continued. “Let’s start there, that is the most important thing. I want my card. And then I have to represent the brand. So we’ll see.”
Banks also expressed mixed feelings about leaving Victoria’s Secret. “It wasn’t just about empowerment, it was fear,” she said, noting the modeling industry’s tendency to discard aging models. Despite the brand’s openness to her age, Banks walked away, fearing she wouldn’t be taken seriously as a talk show host. “Yes, I do. Oh, Jenna, I regret it,” she confessed when asked about regrets.
Banks jokingly proposed a deal: “I would do a deal if you gave me my card back.” She lamented her belief that she couldn’t be multifaceted, despite Victoria’s Secret’s encouragement. “But Victoria’s Secret was telling me that I could be more,” she said.
Now residing in Australia with her partner Louis Bélanger-Martin and son York, Banks has embraced a new chapter. On Today with Jenna & Friends, she shared, “So I have this ice cream company, SMiZE and Dream.”
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Tyra Banks Quits US, Relocates to Australia for New Life with Family | Video
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