Tyra Banks is hanging up her ballroom gowns for business suits.
The model and entrepreneur said Thursday she is leaving Dancing with the Stars after three seasons to focus on her work as a TV producer and her ice cream business, SMiZE & Dream.
“I’m really focused on business, like crazy, crazy focused,” Banks told a TMZ photographer outside a grocery store in Santa Monica, California.
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She added that the ice cream brand is global and she’s preparing to begin selling it in the U.S.
“I feel it’s time for me to really focus on my business and my entrepreneurship, and also producing more TV, but behind the scenes,” she said. “I think it’s time to graduate from the dance floor to the stock market floor.”
The photographer asked Banks if she was serious and she jokingly said, “Mic drop.”
On Friday, Good Morning America confirmed Banks won’t be returning to DWTS.
The star joined the ABC dance competition as host and executive producer in 2020, during a shakeup which saw hosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews exit the series.
Banks had years of hosting experience on America’s Next Top Model, the syndicated Tyra Banks Show, and America’s Got Talent.
But some longtime DWTS fans weren’t happy and complained on social media that her larger-than-life personality wasn’t the right fit for the show.
In 2022 amid falling ratings, ABC moved the series off broadcast TV to Disney+ after 15 years and 30 seasons.
The network also brought in Alfonso Ribeiro as co-host for season 31. Ribeiro competed and won the top prize on the 19th season of Dancing with the Stars. He also hosted the nationwide Dancing with the Stars tour.
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