Two decades after her appearance on America’s Next Top Model, Yaya DaCosta is finally opening up about her time on the show, saying she’s made peace with both the highs and the hardships.
In a surprise Instagram video posted March 15, the cycle 3 runner-up reflected on her journey and shared a recent “beautiful moment” she had with Tyra Banks at the ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards on February 27.
While the video addressed long-held fan questions, DaCosta said the negative commentary that followed is insignificant compared to her goal of finding closure and healing from a painful chapter in her past, as reported by PEOPLE.
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“Honestly, and many may not understand this as I have caught wind of — in the rare occasion that I read comments that speculate about my intentions — I really would’ve been fine never saying anything,” she explained to PEOPLE exclusively.
DaCosta’s long silence about America’s Next Top Model led many to believe she harbored resentment toward Banks.
But according to DaCosta, while her experience on the show wasn’t entirely positive, keeping quiet was a strategic choice — a way to protect and establish her credibility as an actress without being boxed in by the stigma of reality TV.
“[Top Model] was before reality TV was really a thing, and no one knew what they were getting themselves into. And so at that time, there was a stigma and because I was so dedicated to being taken seriously as a legitimate thespian, right, as an actor, it was something that I needed to not talk about,” she revealed.
“I actually had the directors of three of my first films tell me explicitly — John Sayles of Honeydripper, Liz Friedlander of Take the Lead, and Roc Dutton from Racing for Time — that had they known, because they found out afterward, or while we were on set or at a wrap party, that they wouldn’t have hired me,” she revealed. “So I learned very quickly to zip the lip.”
Now a seasoned actress with credits in Lincoln Lawyer, Chicago Med, and the Whitney biopic, DaCosta says she’s finally at peace with her America’s Next Top Model past.
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In the March 15 video, DaCosta opened up about a heartfelt, healing moment with Banks at the ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards.
Though she missed Banks’ speech — in which Banks admitted to saying “some dumb s—” during ANTM’s run — the two reconnected in a photo studio, closing an emotional chapter years in the making.
DaCosta said timing made all the difference in her emotional reunion with Banks. Reflecting on their recent run-in, the former ANTM star admitted it wouldn’t have carried the same weight years ago.
But now, in a more spiritually grounded chapter of her life, DaCosta sees the moment as divinely orchestrated — a powerful, overdue reconciliation guided by intuition and grace.
“No one knew she was going to speak. She happened to speak when I was in the bathroom. And because of that, we ended up being in the same place at the same time. That would not have happened had I not been obedient,” she told PEOPLE.
“And once our meeting happened, it was such a beautiful experience, I went back in the room, I shared it, like I said in the video, with friends who were there and I was also nudged just to understand that the same gift that I gave them and telling the story needed to be given to the masses who were still holding on to old stories. And so that was my only intention, was to be obedient and follow the nudges,” she explained.
Having finally spoken her truth, DaCosta said she’s turning the page for good — officially closing the chapter on America’s Next Top Model and leaving the past where it belongs.
“I’m not going to talk about it anymore,” she affirmed. “The lesson is clear. I said what I said, and I’m so glad that so many people resonated with it and that we can begin to shift the conversation about these things towards the intention of growth, of healing, of elevation.”
Aware that people are still going to find a reason to pick her and the sentiments she’s shared apart, DaCosta said she’s fine with that too.
“Not everybody is ready, and that’s okay. And that was my point, right? We’re not always going to get the apology that we want, but we can put ourselves first and we can decide to be whole and to not need anything from anyone in order to move on and to be free. So that was it, and it wasn’t something that I planned. It was just literally me being obedient.”
