Law Roach is once again reminding us why no one quite does it like him when it comes to shade, and that not everyone is on his level when it comes to fashion. That includes Tyra Banks. Appearing on TS Madison’s Outlaws podcast, Law was addressing a viral clip of him and Tyra in a heated exchange on an episode of Project Runway, when the two went head to head over what defined good fashion.

The judges were advocating for their favourite looks in a paper towel challenge. A vehement Law insisted that his choice was the best, while Tyra was pushing for another design.

“You’re overstepping,” Roach told her during the episode. To which Tyra responded, “No, you’re overstepping. You’re overtalking everybody.”

 It was a tense moment with the other judges watching on. But it didn’t end there.

“Because everything doesn’t have to be over the top. That’s not fashion. It’s about technique, and it’s about talent. He can f—ing sew,” Law protested, prompting Tyra to tell him that he wasn’t making any ‘sense’.

Speaking about the incident earlier this month on the Emmys red carpet, Law rejected the idea that he and Tyra were feuding – which is the narrative that began to emerge after the episode aired and the clip of the two debating started to amass hundreds of thousands of views across social media.

“There’s no Tyra situation at all. I think what I bring to the show is, you know, I’m not afraid to disagree with the judges,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “And I think that it’s a forum, and it’s there because we all bring something to it and we all bring different opinions. And if someone’s opinion differs from mine, then I say that and vice versa. I’ve had fights with Heidi; I’ve had fights with Nina; everyone, you know. For me, anybody can get the smoke.”

These were very much the same sentiments he echoed during the podcast, responding that Tyra was ‘beautiful’ when TS Madison asked him how he and Tyra were doing. Followed by a very pregnant pause.

“I love Tyra. I started reality TV because of Tyra. Tyra put me on America’s Next Top Model. That was my first reality show. Tyra told me so much about…she’s a great producer. She told me I speak in soundbites. She said ‘You’re made for reality TV,” he recounted.

Law described coming from Chicago and finally moving to Los Angeles and really not having a clue about what a soundbite was or how TV worked, but really sinking his teeth into what Tyra was telling him and running with it.

He professed his respect and admiration for her, before insisting that ‘anybody can get it’.

“Niecy Nash got it. And who gon’ argue with Aunty Niecy Nash? Me. I’m like, I am. To me, outside of Nina [Garcia], I am the fashion expert. And if I’m talking about fashion and if you’re not at the level of me, in my mind, we’re gonna go back and forth about it,” he said.

When asked if he didn’t think Tyra was up to par with her fashion, Law reminded TS Madison that she’s a model. Followed by another very pregnant pause, before he was asked if he would ever dress her. He said he would, and that she had the chance to be dressed by him but never went on to hire him.

“She didn’t hire me. She didn’t get a chance to like it because he never dressed her,” he said taking an ever so shady sip of his drink.

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There are a few things that make these few minutes of the interview such a Master Class in shade. The first is that he gives Tyra her flowers where her flowers are due. He credits her with giving him his start in reality TV. He pays her the respect she is owed for finding him and helping to platform him. When you are willing to credit somebody, it immediately removes the threat from whatever shade you’re about to throw and makes it more objective. He’s making it clear that this is not personal.

That’s exactly what he’s doing when he says, ‘anyone can get it’. He’s not making it just about Tyra, he’s making this about his principles when it comes to fashion. And what he said in his response to her about not everything needing to be over the top is correct. We know Tyra loves some over the top type sh-t. This was one of the complaints in the America’s Next Top Model documentaries. The models lamented the fact that their portfolio shoots that they received from the show were way too much to take to agencies. The blood, the underwater elements, the settings, the backdrops and the poses, it’s all just A LOT. Sometimes, less is more.

But the last thing he does, which helps to earn him some allies, is remind everyone that Tyra was the one that said he was made for TV because he ‘speaks in soundbites’. He knows that one of the greatest chances he has of being invited back onto the show is to be the sh-t disturber. It’s not to sit there and placate the panel. Law knows reality TV now. He knows the importance of providing some element of drama – and sometimes, you can deliver that by simply speaking your mind. It also helps contextualize what he said to The Hollywood Reporter, about treating the show like a forum, reinforcing the value of differing opinions, namely his, as the fashion expert.

Part of the reason this is so interesting to watch play out is because we see the generational divide between Tyra and Law. Tyra is accustomed to being idolized by the people surrounding her when she holds court on national TV. Having been at the centre of a show like America’s Next Top Model, the women she was surrounded by were fans. Law is making it clear that he’s now a peer, despite the fact that she very well may have expected something different from him given her being partially responsible for his come-up. With everything coming to light over the last two years about just how much the models on ANTM went through, it sure is nice to see somebody giving her hell.

Photo credits: Chelsea Lauren/Christopher Victorio/Shutterstock

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