(Photo: Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
On Monday, a Jane Doe lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Tyra Banks and Marathon Productions in which the Jane Doe claimed that her daughter, Mary, had faced emotional distress when Banks tried to “physically manipulate” her when Doe tried out for “America’s Got Talent.”
Doe and her husband appeared on the show to perform several songs as part of their audition, including one that they had written for Mary.
According to the suit, Banks tried to enter into a contract with Mary without her parents’ consent despite Mary’s status as a minor. What’s more, during the performance of the song written for Mary, Banks reportedly tried to get Mary to look “embarrassed and annoyed” by the song. To that end, Banks shook Mary’s shoulder and pulled her hair back to “physically manipulate her.”
“Banks also insinuated that Mary was accidentally conceived, made fun of the performance and ridiculed (the) song in front of Mary,” the lawsuit claimed, adding that Mary had been left “traumatized and became deeply depressed” because of the experience.
The lawsuit is charging Banks with intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, as well as civil battery and civil assault.
