Angelea Preston, who competed on Cycle 14 of the reality show before returning and winning Cycle 17, has filed a lawsuit against Tyra Banks. Preston alleges in her suit that she never received her grand prize because she was disqualified for previously having been an escort. She is suing for breach of oral agreement, breach of written contract, as well as intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress, the latter because she claims the show withheld medical treatment for at least 10 minutes when she had an anxiety attack to make for better TV.
Additionally, Preston is suing for failure to pay minimum wage, failure to pay overtime wages, failure to provide meal and rest breaks and unfair business practices, citing working conditions for the show's contestants. She is suing for damages on all eight accounts and says she believes she is owed at least $3 million. The CW issued the following statement in response to Preston's 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."
