Tuned In

Tyra Gets Something Off Her Chest

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On America’s Next Top Model, Tyra Banks is distinguished from other reality hosts by her willingness to get personal and put it out there — talking to the aspiring catwalkers about her flaws, her weight problems, the racial issues of the fashion world. You might cynically think those weepy sister-to-sister sessions looked like practice for a daytime talk show and you would cynically be right. No sooner had The Tyra Banks Show debuted last week than Tyra was on the couch, commiserating with women who have body-image issues — at one point she pulled up her shirt and pinched a handful of flab, right there for the camera.

Yesterday Tyra took "putting it out there" to a whole new level. The topic of the day was, in a word, boobs–from choosing the right-sized bra (80% of women, apparently, wear the wrong one) to the disturbing trend among teenage girls to get implants. From there, she segued to the abundant rumors that her own (equally abundant) bosom must be surgically enhanced. So she submitted to an on-air sonogram to prove that they’re not. "These issues –they’re real," she said, at the beginning of the episode. "But as for my breasts, you’ll just have to wait to find out." And in a move we can only hope will not be copied by Oprah and Dr. Phil, she changed into a robe and submitted to the high-tech chest test. (The verdict: they’re all Tyra.)

It’s just a shame there’s already a new fall show named Twins.

Tonight, get your Tyra fix on the season debut of now-Janice-Dickinson-free ANTM, where the competitive jealousy is 100% natural. It’s against the debuts of Lost and The Apprentice: Martha Stewart — any one of which I may spoilerize for you here tomorrow — but that’s why God created VCRs, TiVo and caffeine.