Former supermodel Janice Dickinson has declared she was fired from her role as a judge on TYRA BANKS' AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL, shooting down claims she walked away from the reality show.

Earlier this year (05), it had been announced that British beauty Twiggy would be replacing tough-talking Dickinson, who fans believed had left the show to star in the latest season of the hit reality series The Surreal Life.

But Dickinson now explains to Radar magazine, "I got fired. At first it was a trip. I believed in the show and it was fun. But after a few episodes I began getting labelled a bitch, and that got to me.

"I was just telling the truth and I was saving these girls from going out there and being told that they're too short, too fat, their skin's not good enough. I was to America's Next Top Model what Simon Cowell is to American Idol.

"I'd rather be an honest bitch than some a*s-kissing, sugar-coating, namby-pamby, wiping-a*s motherf**ker. I made the show number one in 52 countries. And then I got the sack, and the UPN executives replaced me with Twiggy. No one in America knows who Twiggy is. There's no way anyone could fill my shoes. There's no way."

She adds of her former colleague, "Tyra's no walk in the park. Tyra's really righteous."