Celebrity Mound

A Georgia man who was convicted of stalking TV host Tyra Banks was sentenced Thursday to a year of probation and ordered to complete a treatment program designed specifically for stalkers.

Brady Green, 39, of Dublin, Ga., must also stay away from the former supermodel for the next two years under an order of protection.

Manhattan Criminal Court Judge James Burke warned Green that he would face up to 90 days in jail if he disobeys any of the court’s orders.

Green and his lawyer left court without commenting.

Green was convicted in April of stalking Banks from coast to coast – calling her offices, showing up at her TV studios and sending her flowers. Police said he threatened to cut a staffer’s throat for not telling him where Banks was.

When Green was arrested March 18, 2008, at a McDonald’s restaurant near Banks’ Manhattan studio, he told officers they “had a thing together,” police said.

Banks, who did not attend Green’s sentencing, testified during his trial that she feared for her safety, and for that of her staff and family.

The former Sports Illustrated cover girl said that because of Green, her company hired more security staff, her studio audiences are vetted more thoroughly, and security guards follow her everywhere.

Green testified that he was a Banks fan and had been enthusiastic about trying to get tickets for her show. He said his actions had been misunderstood.

But Assistant District Attorney Sean McMahon got Green to admit that he rode a bus for four days from Los Angeles to New York where he had no friends, relatives or job, and the first he thing he did was go to the building that houses Banks’ studio.

Banks is executive producer and host of two popular TV shows, “America’s Next Top Model” and “The Tyra Banks Show.”

The Georgia drifter accused of stalking Tyra Banks expressed polite amazement when told the star wasn’t around to welcome him, a producer at her talk show testified Monday.

Ray Noia said he was asked by his boss to check on Brady Green after he slipped into the Chelsea studio of the “The Tyra Banks Show” asking to see his “very good friend.”

“He wouldn’t leave when they told him Tyra wasn’t there,” said Noia.

Green, 39, is charged with harassment and stalking following his unwelcome visits in March of last year to the studio, where he was on the show’s “do not admit” list.

Manhattan prosecutors contend Green threatened to kill an employee who refused to give him the address to the studio. He eventually found his way to the W. 26th St. location, where an assistant to the supermodel-turned-talk show host busted him as he looked for Banks in an off-limits area.

“He’d explain, ‘I’m trying to see her. She’s a good friend of mine. Is there any way I can contact her?’” said Cynthia Simpson, an ex-staffer at “The Tyra Banks Show.”

Simpson said she saw Green earlier in the day, when he was trying to score tickets.

“He came in and asked when’s the show starting, how long would it take, can he get tickets,” Simpson said. “He said he was a friend of Tyra’s [and] that she knows he was coming to see her.”

Natasha Randolph, a secretary at the show, testified that Green called “six to 10 times,” and that he sent Banks flowers.

The wacky drifter told the cop who arrested him he was being watched and recorded by satellites.

Green could see Banks in person Wednesday, when she may take the witness stand.

(source)

A throng of hopeful women turned out for Saturday’s “take two” audition for “America’s Next Top Model.” But will host Tyra Banks and her producers take any of them seriously?

Sources tell us that producers choose at least some of their contestants at private tryouts and that the open cattle calls around the country are mostly just publicity stunts.

A rep for The CW network, which airs the show, declined to comment when we asked whether it was true that at least four contestants were chosen before the infamous March 14 incident in Manhattan.

That was the tryout where a panic-induced riot sent six girls to the hospital. Many more went home disappointed when the event was called off.
One source claims the deck was stacked against them.

“The producers had already picked some of the girls they wanted in private meetings,” says the insider. “They had to sign agreements promising not to reveal how they were chosen.”

Dehea Abraham says she flew up from Atlanta for the March 14 open call only to be told by a friend that she didn’t stand a chance. “My friend is a dancer who’s represented by a talent agency that also handles models,” says Abraham. “Someone from the show saw her MySpace page and invited her to a secret pre-audition. My friend doesn’t really want to model. But she figured she’d try it out. She had to sign a confidentiality agreement.
“When I got to New York, she called me and said, ‘Please tell me you’re not in New York City. You’re wasting your time.’”

Dionne Sherrae, who injured her shoulder in the March 14 melee, says she’s “not surprised” to hear that the 13 girls who get into the Top Model House may not all come from cattle calls. “You never hear about people saying, ‘Oh, I stood in line next to that girl.’”

Abraham says she “saw the clues” that the cattle call was mostly about getting a big turnout for the cameras. “They lowered the height requirement, so they get more people. But they also get a lot of high school girls who haven’t developed and don’t have morals. They cut in line. That’s how the trouble started.

“To me, the show is totally different from last year,” says Abraham. “It’s lost its soul. It’s all about ratings.

They don’t really look for new faces. They just look for a girl that fits the image they already have in mind. It’s preordained.”

(source)

The model/talk-show hostess kept her “Tyra Banks Show” audience waiting for nearly two hours at her West 26th Street studio Tuesday during a taping of “Celebrating Black Models, Past, Present and Future,” while she stood backstage giggling, snacking and chatting with the crew.

“You could hear her going on and on because she was standing right behind the stage curtain,” said one audience member. “She’s talking and talking. Meanwhile, you have the entire audience waiting almost two hours for the taping to start.” And our spy said when Banks finally did take her seat onstage, she had a bad attitude.

“She leaves us waiting, and everyone is sitting there complaining, and then she comes out and doesn’t say a word about it. She didn’t even say hello, she got right into her script,” said our source. “She acted so cold towards everyone. She’s a phony.”

Another audience member told Page Six the crowd was full of aspiring models who were dragged into the street by Banks for a shoot after she’d interviewed Beverly Johnson, Veronica Webb, Chanel Iman and Tameka Jacobs.

All along, “Tyra kept saying, ‘When I was a model,’ and would hardly let them talk,” said our spy. “It was all about her, as usual.”

Banks then led the whole audience outside onto the street for the show’s ending. “Cops had it closed off, and Tyra had bodyguards,” laughed our spy. “She had the audience prance down the street and then release black balloons. Some were whining that it was so bad for the environment.
“It was so disorganized, people fell over the press outside and almost trampled two little girls. Tyra was acting like it was a live sporting event instead of the most self-indulgent, narcissistic crap.” Show reps did not return calls.

(source)

There’s been no shortage of tales about Tyra Banks’ personality conflicts on the set of “America’s Next Top Model,” but the latest might be the most interesting since it could have a lasting impact on the show. OK! magazine reports that Banks isn’t getting along with photo shoot creative director Jay Manuel, and her days on the show could be numbered.

“It’s gotten so bad that Tyra and Jay aren’t speaking,” an insider told OK! magazine. The selective silent treatment isn’t limited to Manuel, either. “Tyra barely interacts with the contestants and only wants to show up on judging day,” the source told the magazine.

Net result? Banks (who wouldn’t comment on the rumors) might be looking for a new supermodel to helm ANTM. “She’s really throwing all her weight behind her talk show,” according to a source familiar with “The Tyra Banks Show.” “She’s putting lots of pressure on her staff to keep her show on the map. She had Barack Obama on, she had Hilary Clinton on — she got a taste of playing with the big boys and now ‘Top Model’ seems to detract from her big plans.”