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Tyra Banks surprises America’s Next Top Model’s first transgender contestant Isis King with a sex change operation, on The Tyra Banks show airing Tuesday.
“This is not happening!” King, who was born Darrell Walls, says when Banks introduces her to Dr. Marci Bowers, a leading gender reassignment surgeon who has experienced the surgery herself. (Dr. Bowers is paying for the surgery.)
“[I feel] like I’m about to wake up,” says King, 22, - who lived in a homeless shelter in Maryland before auditioning for the show.
King hadn’t had the reassignment surgery due to the hefty $20,000 to $35,000. “It’s hard. I try not to think about it because it is something I’m really passionate about,” she says. “I feel like I really was born in the wrong body, and it’s just the one thing that makes me feel uncomfortable.”
Although, King wouldn’t allow photos of her as a male shown on the 11th season of ANTM, she reveals them for the first time on The Tyra Banks Show.
The model was hesitant to share the pictures for a few reasons. “I look at it like yes, I’m the first transgender contestant, but okay, let’s move past it now,” King explains. “I’m just a woman trying to compete just like everyone else.”
Talk about an early Christmas present.