There was all sorts of madness yesterday on The Tyra Banks Show — which shouldn’t surprise most people, but we were genuinely impressed with the amount of stupidity squished into one full hour of television.

The highlight was Tyra introducing viewers to “The Tapeworm Diet”, which isn’t something you eat, but ingest. That’s right: You eat a parasite so that you can keep on eating tons of food. According to Diet Review, “[The Tapeworm] secretes proteins in our intestinal tract that make our digestion of food much less efficient. A less efficient digestive systems means that you can consume more calories through your food since your “body guest” is also noshing on them for his own growth purposes. Some scientists estimate that those infected with a single tapeworm can lose up to one or two pounds each week.”

Healthy eating? Blah. Exercise? Who needs it! Just swallow a parasite and continue hitting KFC for lunch and dinner. Tyra even had a guy on that sells the worms over the Internet; despite an FDA ban on the practice. Said one woman on Twitter, “I’m still undecided on Tyra Banks’ Tapeworm diet. I don’t know if its a great or just plain ridiculous.” Undecided? What the hell is wrong with people?

Fueling the incredulity, Tyra next turned her attention to “the latest trends in tiny pets”. One woman brought on her pet Capichin monkey all dressed up — further convincing idiots out there that pet monkeys are a cool and awesome pet to own. Even worse, this woman removed all of the monkey’s teeth so that it could never bite her. Said another woman on Twitter, “so, after seeing Tyra today, i want one of those little pigs. & that lady made me want a baby monkey even more. i must get one!”

Thankfully, just when you think the world is doomed, one viewer left this comment on Tyra’s site:

“These animals are NOT pets! We have shelters that are spilling over with pefectly good and loving domesticated dogs and cats! How about you have a show where you focus on this, not dressing a wild monkey up in clothes and removing it’s teeth because it might bite somebody…god forbid it acts like(and eats)what nature/God intended. If people have a void to fill in their lives, how about going and volunteering at a local animal shelter or even the zoo!!”

Well said. But since this is Tyra we’re talking about, chances are it will probably fall on deaf ears.

Did you see the episode? Tell us what you thought below!

The legitimacy of a charity seems to be on everyone’s mind these days. I’ve been amazed at the responses to the recent post on a Scientology benefit for charity. That conversation may not have been that surprising (I’m not Scientology’s OMG #1 Fan myself!), but when I heard that charities run by Bono — one of my favorite celebs ever– George Clooney, and other famous people might not be as legit as they claim, I was pretty shocked.

Apparently, Bono’s DATA Foundation (now part of One), which works to eliminate poverty and AIDS in Africa, raised $31 million in 2006–but only used $6 million of that for charity. The rest went to transportation, security, and U2 tour tickets. Clooney’s Not on Our Watch (also founded by Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and others), which fights genocide, has some shady dealings with an offshore gambling company. Wyclef Jean, Osi Umenyiora, Tyra Banks, Larry King, Gary Payton, Petra Nemcova, Magic Johnson and Dyan Cannon also seem to have skeletons in their charities’ closets; read more about them here.

So what do you think? Do a few gray areas make a charity all bad? Do any of these charities sound completely illegitimate to you, or do you think they still have redeeming qualities?

US Magazine is devoting a several page spread in their July 28th issue to what celebrities are doing to be more green — but they’re not letting the gloss distract from the real issue: these people have huge carbon footprints! They break it down in a handy graph (scanned in here) and also call some celebs on their hypocrisy. Most surprising? Grey’s Anatomy star Kate Walsh flew to a sustainable living event in San Diego on June 14th — in a private jet. [Smacks forehead] [Read more...] (Update: According to a comment below, US Weekly did not reveal the whole truth behind Kate’s visit…)

Josh Dorfman may be a Lazy Environmentalist, but he’s also a successful green furniture maven who’s about to open New York City’s first-ever residential eco pop-up store inside Riverhouse — Manhattan’s greenest luxury condominium in Battery Park City (and home to Tyra Banks and Leonardo DiCaprio). The store will feature eighteen of the world’s top environmental furniture designers and artists. Swank!. [Read more...]

And finally, a Happy Birthday to one of our favorite green building sites, Jetson Green! Preston and the gang are celebrating by giving away a whole bunch of cool, green swag through tomorrow night at midnight. Stop on over, enter to win, and make sure to wish these guys a Happy 2 Years of serving up some awesome, inspiring, green content. [Read more...]

As expected, Leonardo DiCaprio is bringing ‘em in over at Riverhouse. Let’s hope he gets a commission.

Since his announcement back in April that he had purchased a multi-million dollar condo in the eco-friendly apartment building, the 33-year-old actor has influenced the Hollywood crowd to take a closer look; with Tyra Banks most recently throwing down cash for her own green pad. Now it appears that America Ferrera, star of ABC’s Ugly Betty, is also ready to call Riverhouse home. From OK! Magazine,

“The actress, 24 , is spending her summer hiatus looking for the perfect love nest, and it’s no easy feat! ‘She really loves the eco-friendly building that Leonardo DiCaprio lives in,” a pal close to America tells OK!. “That’s her top choice. She’s very envrionmentally conscious.’”

Last August, Ferrera won a bid of $35,000 for a new Toyota Prius during the Hot For Hollywood variety show to benefit AIDS research. Her character Ugly Betty was also recently spotted on a episode sporting an eco-friendly, recycled bag from Rebagz Tie-Tote.

At this rate, the parties down in Battery Park are going to be legendary. America, let us know if you need help moving in!

Earlier this month Tyra Banks also joined Mayor Bloomberg in planting a tree on Ninth Avenue. Back on April 12th, over 20,000 trees were planted throughout New York City — the largest ever planting accomplishment in one day. Click here to learn how you can either help out — or get a few trees in your neighborhood!

Photo credit: Sheknows

Looks like Riverhouse is getting its second famous occupant.

Sources are saying that former model-turned TV host Tyra Banks has purchased a bamboo-floored condo in the same building as Leonardo DiCaprio. The 33-year old actor scooped up the luxury pad last month — and ever since the Riverhouse brand has seen its publicity shoot through the roof. We’d have no trouble believing Banks was influenced by all the media hype.

Riverhouse is a gorgeous new apartment building built overlooking the Hudson River. It features sustainable materials, a green roof, solar panels, grey water treatment system, and a bevy of other green elements. For more info, hop here.

Well yesterday Tyra got serious as she and previous America’s Next Top Model contestants Claire Unabia, Saliesha Cooper and Jaslene Gonzalez joined New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to plant an Oak tree on Ninth Avenue as part of the Million Tree Month and as a commemoration of the 600th episode of the The Tyra Banks Show.

And a tree wasn’t the only thing Tyra planted. Before the day was over she had planted a nice wet kiss right on cheek of Michael Bloomberg. Oh Tyra!

The event will air on an episode of The Tyra Banks Show sometime after Earth Day.

thanks: justjared.com