What Happened To Tiffany Richardson From America's Next Top Model?

Tyra Banks is — and probably always will be — a meme queen, not because she frequently makes them, but because she's often the subject of them. The supermodel has long been the star of various GIFs, jokes, and other online tomfoolery, but perhaps nothing will ever outshine the GIF of Banks screaming at an "America's Next Top Model" contestant.

Remember Banks' "I was rooting for you! We were all rooting for you!" meme? You've probably posted it to your socials or group chats at least once. And while it's often used in lighthearted arguments and quick banter, the actual source of the meme is far graver. The recipient of Banks' screaming fit was model Tiffany Richardson, who unjustly got an earful when she was eliminated from the TV model search. At the time, Banks expressed her disappointment with Richardson's performance as she was apparently hoping that the aspiring model would make it far in the competition. The two got into a heated exchange and the snippet of the moment somehow became a fixture in pop culture.

And while Banks went on to film more seasons of the show and served as a mentor to a long list of other hopefuls, Richardson seemingly fell off the map and turned her back on modeling. As it turns out, she traded in the model life for normalcy.

It's been nearly two decades since Tiffany Richardson joined "America's Next Top Model," and she's now at the point where she barely thinks about her stint on the show at all. Speaking with BuzzFeed News in 2017, she made it clear that she has left modeling behind and is now working a 9-to-5 job in Miami, where she helps people with mental disabilities.

"It's pretty cool, though, I'm not complaining about it," she said of her life post-ANTM, but noting that it's a shame that she didn't get to capitalize on her internet fame. What grinds her gears, though, is when people remind her of all the things that could have been. "Every f***ing day somebody is coming up to me about this show and how I could've won and Tyra said this and it's like, really? It's been 10 years. Could y'all not?" she said. In a 2015 interview with About Entertainment she even noted that there was a time that she couldn't go anywhere without being recognized. "I go to McDonald's or Burger King and people are like, 'I know you. You're Tiffany!' Some people love me and some people hate me."

And while she noted that she's now a "completely different person," she still dabbles in modeling when she finds the time. "I've been doing a couple of different photo shoots, and it's like a learning process too," she shared. "And then I'm just getting my body fit ... but I work, I live in the real world."

If you thought what Tyra Banks said to Tiffany Richardson was uncalled for, you may be surprised to find out that what happened beyond what aired was "1,000 times worse." In her BuzzFeed News interview, Richardson divulged that Banks spewed words she definitely did not deserve. "You can go back to your house and sleep on your mattress on the floor with your baby," she recalled Banks saying. Michelle Deighton, another contestant, shared with E! True Hollywood Story that Banks said something along the lines of, "There's never been a girl I regret casting more than you!"

At the time, Richardson was so livid that she wanted nothing more than to fire back at Banks. "Oh my goodness. Was I mad at her? I wanted to hit her! I was so upset with her at that moment after she told me shut up," she told About Entertainment. "So, at the moment, I didn't hear anything else that she said. I was just like, 'Whatever, get out of my face.'"

Banks, for her part, regrets ever lashing out on Richardson. "Oh my god totally, I wouldn't have done it," she shared. "Actually, maybe I wouldn't have aired it." But she did note that everything she said isn't half as brutal as what actual models often hear in real life. "It can be very harsh, but the real industry is harsher," Banks noted.