Tyra Banks: Don't Hate Me for Letting Men Compete on America's Next Top Model!

USMagazine, Friday, October 19, 2012, 9:05am (PDT)

America's Next Top Model fans were stunned when show execs axed fan favorite judges Nigel Barker, Jay Manuel and J. Alexander in favor of Rob Evans, Kelly Cutrone and Johnny Wujek for cycle 19 -- and there are even more changes in store for ANTM's 20th cycle.

When the next installment premieres in summer 2013, Tyra Banks and Co. will be bringing in the men -- allowing male models to compete on the series for the first time in show history. Living in the same house along with their female catwalk counterparts, the men will face the public as ANTM takes its elimination voting to social media and allows viewers to help decide who gets the boot.

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Aware that the new shakeup may make waves among the ANTM diehards, Banks, 38, told Us Weekly that she isn't the only one who decided to introduce men into the competition.

"The male model idea has been around for five years and everyone says, 'Tyra! You're the boss, so we hate you for this, and we love you for that,' but they don't realize that I'm not the boss," the CW show's host and judge explained at Thursday's Flawsome Ball in New York City. "I've been having to ask my bosses for five years, and keep tweaking the powerpoint presentation saying, 'What if we did it like this, and what if we did it like that?' And they finally said yes!"

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Though Banks is optimistic about the 20th cycle switchup, her colleague, fellow judge Evans, isn't sold on the idea of having the men live together in the same model house.

"I think it's cool that they switched it, and I think they had held off for a while because of the drama that can happen with females," Evans told Us. "I think that's why a lot of girls watch the show, but it's time to switch it up a bit"

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"They should not all live in the same house. That's one of the stupidest ideas I think they've had," Evans continued. "Who knows what's going to happen with all those dudes?!"

Tell Us: Are you excited ANTM will now feature male contestants?

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Tyra Banks: Don't Hate Me for Letting Men Compete on America's Next Top Model!