Is Tyra Banks afraid a Manhattan jury wouldn’t like her?
That’s the accusation by defense lawyers as the trial of an alleged Banks stalker starts today, with testimony from the TV star and supermodel herself scheduled for the last week in April.
Prosecutors yesterday insisted on reducing the stalking charges against drifter Brady Green from the type of misdemeanor requiring a jury to the type that can be heard by a judge alone.
They explained they did so only because the evidence didn’t support the tougher charge.
But defense lawyer Jeffrey Berman yesterday accused the talk-show star and host of “America’s Next Top Model” of personally demanding that no jurors be present.
“She puts herself out in the public about very interesting and controversial issues, and there are people out there who truly detest and dislike Miss Banks,” Berman said in a pre-trial hearing yesterday.
“She’s well-respected, but there are people who don’t care for Miss Banks,” the lawyer insisted. “People bring their feelings into the jury box,” he said. “I bet you anything Miss Banks made that request personally,” the lawyer claimed.
Green, 38, of Georgia, is charged with stalking Banks by bus from Los Angeles to New York, sending her unwanted flowers and repeatedly calling and visiting her studios on West 26th Street.
He’s no harmless loony, prosecutors say. At his worst, he allegedly threatened to slit the throat of a “Tyra Banks Show” receptionist in LA who refused to give him the address of Banks’ New York studios. Arrested a year ago near the studios, Green told cops he’s being “watched” by satellites and that he and Banks “had a thing together,” according to police statements.