Is Tyra Banks mocking Kim Stolz?

Does this picture of current America’s Next Top Model contestant Analeigh remind you of any past contestants? I thought it looked just like Kim Stolz. Maybe you did, too. Kim Stolz certainly did. It’s not the resemblance that was odd, but the description of the assignment for Analeigh. She was instructed to pose as an “interviewer with an attitude.” It would seem very coincidental that the photo chosen looked very much like Stolz. Kim did not waste any time responding, but first, her co-worker, Jim, at MTV News posted a blog calling out Ms. Banks for posing the shoot:

The resemblance is uncanny, no? Normally I would have just said, “Funny! That girl looks like Kim Stolz in that pic,” and then moved on to watching Project Runway. But then I remembered that earlier in the episode, Jay Manuel explained that Tyra was inspired to do this shoot after producing her own awards show, the Fiercee Awards.

For those who didn’t catch my interview with Kim this summer, she commented on her awkward meeting with Tyra at the Fiercee Awards, during which Tyra was a little, uh, rude to Kim because she chose to come to the event as an MTV reporter versus an ex-Top Model contestant. Their interaction was caught on video, so I had to ask Kim how she felt about it after the fact:

AE: It almost seemed like Tyra was acting kind of rude to you. Did you feel that way?

Kim: [laughs] I think Tyra and I have a funny banter, and I think we sort of like get along and I definitely have nothing against her, but I think that she was funny. I asked her why she never kept in touch – I mean, clearly she had no intention to. But she was sort of caught off guard.

Apparently so! Kim’s response to the “interviewer with an attitude” photo came shortly after. Here’s an excerpt from her open letter to Tyra:

Now, I’m not self-centered. Maybe you weren’t even referencing me in Analeigh’s photo shoot. Maybe you were talking about some other potentially b—-y red-carpet moment that you had with another interviewer … Could it be Joan or Melissa Rivers, or even Oprah?? OK, probably not Oprah. She’s perfect and everyone’s fave. (Does that hurt?) But does [the Analeigh photo] look like Melissa Rivers? Certainly doesn’t look like Joan … in fact … WAIT! It resembles me more than most photos taken of me – I gotta agree with Jim on that one. But hey, that’s water under the bridge. Let’s get to the real issue at hand.

Jim is obviously not aware of the weight that the Fiercee Awards have on the entertainment industry. Not only is it one of the nation’s most anticipated awards shows, but it’s also one of the more star-studded carpets that 221 West 26th Street has ever seen. Wait. What? Did someone say Carol Alt?

The Fiercee Awards bring young girls with the same dream together – and applauds them for such noble endeavors as “Ugliest Cry,” “Worst Wipeout” and “Craziest Phone Call.” Now, if winning one of those awards doesn’t inspire confidence in our young models, what will?

Well Ty, I just want YOU to know that Jim’s misdemeanor has not gone unnoticed. I PERSONALLY gave him a talking-to. I learned from the best. So here’s my best shot …

The rest is in video form. I’ll leave it to you to decipher who got the last laugh.