Tyra Banks Mortified by Mean Spirited Tabloid Reports  1/26/07

Supermodel Tyra Banks was stunned when she read the mean-spirited coverage regarding her recent weight gain in the tabloid media.

The 33-year-old was enjoying a recent holiday in Australia when she was photographed in a bathing suit on the beach with a fuller frame.

She tells American publication People, "It was such a strange meanness and rejoicing that people had."

Banks insists the photos were taken from an unflattering angle and that the catty coverage might harm her fans.

She explains, "I get so much mail from young girls who say, 'I look up to you... I think you're beautiful.' So when they say my body is 'ugly' and 'disgusting', what does that make those girls feel like?"

Banks has put on 30 pounds since her modeling career began and now weighs a healthy 161 pounds.