The entire Tyra-as-Michelle-Obama spread in Harper’s Bazaar has been released.
I’ll be honest: I’ve looked at this from quite a few angles, and I just don’t know what to make of it. Is this a cool thing? Is this a dumb thing? Is this a poignant thing? Or does it fall flat? Does it minimize the work Michelle Obama’s done? Or does it honor it? I really don’t know how I feel. So I’m gonna do what I do best: look at photos, decide which ones I like, and then post them here for you guys to look at too. I can’t go wrong that way.
If you’re one of those “reader” types, the full article is here.
I am not digging it at all. I don’t even know what to make of it. I’ll read the article when I can’t sleep tonight.
After you read the article, please let me know what the point was…because I just don’t get it!
I think they’re saying, vote for O because Michelle Obama would be totally cute to have around the White House.
But I think she’s fug.
Michelle Obama is way more awesome than Tyra.
It’s weird… I guess I get what the other anon is saying, but it still seems kind of tacky and presumptuous of T, like it’s about HER and looking glam in the WH, whereas I’d like to think Michelle has WAY more class than that, not to mention character and brains than looks. I kind of think it does minimize what Michelle’s done and can do. I don’t know. Ew.
I don’t get it…
I think this represents Michelle Obama in a bad way. Like all she thinks is she’s gorgeous, and all she cares about is how she looks. Which is very untrue, she definetly is an inteligent, and caring person towards others. In the pictures with ALL the children, it seems shes more into herself, and not paying attention to the children at all. The way Tyra is posing too, makes it more annoying in every picture as well. Maybe thats because i don’t really think of Tyra as all that amazing, like everyone seems to think. She is totaly, 100%, hypocritical, in her show, ANTM, and on her talk show, it just seems like its ALWAYS about her. Its her show, I get it. But she just always seems way to self-centered, and like the world revolves around her. Same with all her pictures, if shes ever in it with another person, or a group, you notice her, but not in a good way. She stands out, but not in a good way. Like she doesn’t care about the other people in the group. Maybe thats why these pictures seem so.. awkward, and unMichelle Obama like, i guess.
We’re not seeing Michelle Obama.. we’re seeing Tyra.
I don’t get it either. Tyra’s let all the campy ridiculousness of ANTM go to her head or something. The message I got was “Look at me! I’d make an awesome WH Barbie!”
Those pictures don’t make any sense to me at all. What the heck???
Yeah so I read the article and Tyra had some very insightful, valid points. She then negates all she says by these photos. I somewhat understand what she was trying to portray by her representation of Michele, but her spin on it made it seem so shallow and fake.
Oooohhh! At first, I thought that WAS Barack Obama with Tyra Banks, which totally made no sense to me. Now I get it. It is just another senseless Tyra shoot, probably art directed by Mr. Jay.
I think she just wanted to play a women with kids and a husband, because she doesn’t have either. Was that mean?
I think it’s ridiculous. Michelle Obama is an intelligent, hard-working woman with children and a husband who happens to be running for president. I think these photos are an excuse for Tyra to pretend she’s married to Barack and living in the White House. It’s completely pathetic. Michelle Obama is an amazing person. Tyra is not, nor will she ever be… Michelle Obama.
Yea…Tyra Def. just wanted some attention/someone to talk about her. ugh.
I think this is Tyra’s ploy to maintain herself in the public’s consciousness masked under the false pretense of bringing new angles of media attention to the Obama Campaign.
The shoot reeks of self aggrandizement and everything I fucking hate about her.
Still, for a moment it made me daydream about how fabulous it would be to have Michelle Obama as our first lady…
it’s bizarre. very strange and totally inappropriate.
bad, really bad set design too. They should have left the fake Obama guy out of it. Makes it creeeepyyyy. She should have done a Michelle inspired fashion shoot without looking like she is mocking her. Like someone might do a Jackie O shoot. More of a tribute to their style. Something inspired by their style, not completely trying to look or act like them. Weird, bad wig too. And really stiff and awkward modeling. I’d like to make it go away! Someone, do something. Tyra looks like a big dummy head. The Harvard sweatshirts in bed is so bad. ugghhhhh.
The beds too small and the painting is too big and the lighting is bad and the fabric panel behind the bed is Awkward and the sconce above the lamp is just plain wronggg.Redundant! They look so uncomfortable. I blame the art director, totally. Everything is wrong. I’m coming undone, must stop now….
I like Tyra, but this photo shoot trivializes Michelle Obama, and feeds into negaive stereotypes about her. I guess Tyra is thinking that any publicity is good publicity, and it is…for her.
Aargh. Now I remember what this photoshoot reminds me of…an elitist Cosby family (remember Clare Huxtable?). Only I liked Clare, and Michelle Obama, a whole lot more than Tyra’s fantasy.
this doesnt make any sense to me!!
why the hell is she trying to
pretend to be her i jst dont get the concept
shes not michelle nor will she ever be
so why is doing it??
It’s a disgrace to Michelle Obama…and that looks nothing like her. That is nothing more than Tyra in a bad wig at a stupid photo shoot.
This is weird. Who came up with this idea? It’s really, really stupid. I think it’s cheesy when politicians and their families get the celebrity treatment. Politics aren’t supposed to be entertaining. Politicians and those who represent them should EARN and, as a result, be treated with respect.
I get that Tyra is paying homage or something, but this is so ridiculous. Her acting (even in photographs) is so over the top that it ends up seeming sarcastic, and every one of these shots is just ridiculous. And where did those random children come from, and why are they in everything single shot? The in-bed with Harvard sweatshirt thing? Yes Tyra, when the person you seem to be routing for is being called by opponents “elitist,” the correct response is to do a photo shoot in which you suggest that they sleep in matching Harvard sweatshirts.
I don’t think this reflects badly on Michelle Obama. I think it makes Tyra look like a narcissistic ass.
I for one, do not care to see a Harvard educated couple in an leadership position with….um…fingers dripping of chicken grease . Not every person of color embraces a ghetto/ barrio, no mannered life style.
Tyra you are pretty but abominably ignorant and need to HUSH…and
read a book(no pictures)….or two.
This is just overall weird.
And the fact that “they” are wearing Harvard sweatshirts definitely makes them look like rich snobs, who have no idea what it’s like to grow up in the lower middle class.
Just another photo shoot, not the Anti-Christ, people.
totally in agreement with kelly… there is a way of doing a good photo shoot, and this is not an example of it. fashion mags often try to pay homage to the various sources of their inspiration, but this was just too much.
i thought the olympic spread with lucy lui in harper’s was much better… i think thats because it was more focused on combining olympic inspiration and fashion and not portraying any one particular person…
this tyra spread was just too much, because there was nothing “fashion-y” about it and it was just tyra pretending to be another person… seriously, its one thing to have “inspiration”, its another to try to pretend to be something/someone else.
and puhleese, do not even get me started on the harvard sweatshirts! i dont care if thats where obama went to school, ew!
This looks like a really bad sitcom, like a modern Presidential Family Matters.
I agree with Kelly, too. The modeling and whole look of it is awkward and off. There is a Kennedy-era tribute there, though: That one photo with the girl under the desk and the “president” on the phone is a loose copy of the famous photo with JFK and John. But no Jackie in the original; it figures Tyra would insert herself into that scene.
Wow, this is way cool to read the comments…..such agreement on this overall.
I don’t get it either and I also wonder: what would happen if a huge publication did a similar deal on Cindi McCain?? Showing her too tightly pulled face job and making fun of it?
Outrage would be the response, is my guess. Whadya all think???
This seems like an operation in pointlessness. In which case, done and done.
But she’s SMILING with her EYES, people! Not everyone can do that you know, it’s like all fierce and shit.
I think she just really really wanted to be photographed in a Harvard sweatshirt.
I think the pics are nice, and I am sure that it was meant as a tribute. I just don’t get it, though…
i think it honors michelle obama in a jackie o kind of way
what is so bad about these pics? positive black woman posing as anther positve black woman.
I HATE TYRA!
it’s BORING>>>they are TRYING to do something like that Brad/Angelina spread from forever ago
I dont quite understand the point…???
Who was the brainless child for this?
Tyra, Tyra, Tyra…what can I say? Always the attention whore. She might have just wanted to live a bizarre fantasy, but what a way to show the Obamas as elitist snobs by placing them in bed with matching Harvard sweatshirts on? She’s not even Michelle’s skin color. Tyra is such a classless simpleton. And Oprah she’ll never be.
What is the point of this??? Also Tyra is gorgeous and Michelle isn’t.
I think that Tyra Banks is the wrong person to even think about dressing up to represent Michelle Obama.Tyra does not by far care at all about making a positive move to impact anything at all.Home girl is just playing around.Tyra does’nt have any sound mind behind much at all- if you watch her show you’d know that she is definitly no Oprah.So until she is on Mrs.Oprah Winfrey’s status,she will not ever be able to portray Michelle Obama.And just for your information “mc”Tyra isn’t gorgeous.You can’t slap some fake hair,eyelashes,tons of makeup & concealer on a stick and call it gorgeous.Please,there are pretty celebrities -Tyra is not one of them.Well,maybe if she had her own sense of style,brains and hair.