Former ‘America’s Next Top Model’ All-Star sues Tyra Banks, The CW
There is something so strange about this story today regarding “America’s Next Top Model” alum Angelea Preston. First of all, the timing. Today probably should have been one of the happiest days in The CW’s history, given that “Jane the Virgin” became the first show in the network’s history to earn a Golden Globe nomination.
Now, they have to deal with a lawsuit breaking, which was filed against the network, host / executive producer Tyra Banks, and others. If you remember back during the 14th cycle (otherwise known as the All-Star season), Preston was shockingly disqualified from the competition after some violations of show rules. The general belief was that she had been declared the winner, but the title was stripped from her and the ending filmed again so that Lisa D’Amato could be declared champion.
Preston claims in the suit that she was disqualified for her past history as an escort, and since she was not paid for the grand prize, she is suing for breach of contract, emotional distress, and other damages that she believes total around $3 million.
The CW released a statement today expressing their belief that they will win this suit:
“As noted during the broadcast of the America’s Next Top Model finale in 2011, information about Angelea was learned after production wrapped on that cycle that led to her disqualification from the competition. We are confident that her lawsuit has no merit.”
One question that we have, which makes us question the validity of the suit at present, is this: Why is this coming out in 2014? If Preston believed these things, why wait until now to file the suit?
We cannot comment on the specifics of this case, but we know that The CW, as a part of a massive corporation, would take any rule violations pretty seriously. Therefore, we would imagine that there was plenty of investigation and discussion before stripping Preston of the title.
Then again, we shall see.
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