'America's Next Top Model': Exec producer blames 'economy' for Paulina Porizkova's firing

Nearly a week after Paulia Porizkova revealed that she was fired from her job as a judge on America's Next Top Model, executive producer Ken Mok issued a statement essentially confirming Porizkova's assertion that Mok and fellow exec producer Tyra Banks let Porizkova go because the show had "gotten too fat and they needed to cut some fat and the fat was me." Said Mok: "The current state of the economy has forced shows to make major budget cuts industry wide; and America's Next Top Model is not immune to these financially challenging times. We've had to make significant cuts in every area of the production and, unfortunately, Paulina was a casualty of these cuts. Tyra, who pursued Paulina to join the show as a judge multiple times, was incredibly saddened by the decision the show was forced to make. We really enjoyed working with Paulina, and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors."