Model, actress and TV entrepreneur Tyra Banks has filed lawsuits against at least 10 wig manufacturers for using her name and image to promote and sell their products.
Banks is renowned for wearing wigs and weaves to the extent that few could have said what her real hair looked like – assuming she had any – until she revealed all in 2009. She recently published photographs of her dressed and posed as 15 fellow supermodels (presumably with their permission) using various hairpieces. The 39-year-old tweeted: “NO PHOTOSHOP! Unretouched. Real. Raw.” and sent big thanks to ‘hours of hair & makeup!”
The creator and presenter of America’s Next Top Model wants $10 million in damages and an injunction to prevent companies selling hairpieces using her name, trademarks or likeness.
According to TMZ, the Los Angeles-based companies are using photos of Banks to inspire several of their wigs. Whilst it would be difficult to legislate against this even in ultra-litigious America, the companies have also used her name, photographs, image, identity or trademarks without seeking the model’s approval.
Websites for these wig companies feature photos of wigs for sale that come in various styles of Tyra Banks-inspired ‘hairdos’. Some items are priced as high as $300.
To support the level of damages for which she is suing, Banks reportedly cited her 11 page-long profile on IMDb, the ubiquitous database of TV and film personnel, as evidence to prove the extent of her fame.
