Black Twitter Reacts to Anok Yai Losing Model of The Year Award to White Transgender Model

Anok Yai has lost another one. After being passed over for Model of the Year at the at Fashion Awards on Monday (Dec. 2) evening for the fourth time in a row, the supermodel took to social media to share her thoughts on her loss...and Black Twitter had her back.

Yai lost the coveted award, in which the British Fashion Council recognizes “the global impact of a model who over the last 12 months has dominated the industry,” to Alex Consani, who made history as the first transgender model to win the prize, as PEOPLE points out. 

In a social media post, Yai celebrated Consani’s win while acknowledging her own disappointment after losing the award for the second year in a row. “Alex, I love you and I’m so proud of you,” she wrote, adding, “British Fashion Council, thank you, but I don’t want it anymore.”

“If you have seen the effort that I’ve seen Alex put in; you would understand how proud I am of her,” she added in another post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “But Alex can be proud and I can be exhausted at the same time. It doesn’t take away how much love we have for each other.”

Of course, Black Twitter had plenty of thoughts on Yai’s loss as well, with many taking to X to break down how the supermodel is often overlooked in the industry. As one user points out, it can’t help but feel like another example of a Black person working twice as hard to get half as much.

“Anok Yai was robbed of MOTY twice in a row and I just want y’all to remember that when black women say they have to work 10x harder to get half as much as their white counterparts it’s not a joke. Especially in the fashion industry,” one wrote.

Another user shared similar sentiments: “I actually hate the modelling industry how has Anok Yai been snubbed for model of the year for 4 YEARSSSSS, I like Alex Consani and she did her thing but come on.”

Responding to a post that suggested that Yai should “model harder” in order to win next year, one user wrote, “Model harder? baby this is ANOK YAI who is modelling harder than her?”

For some fans, Yai’s impact goes beyond the Model of the Year award. “Anok Yai has to me personally gone beyond the need for that award anyway,” wrote one.