Tyra Banks Demanding $50,000 From Ex-Business Partner Over ‘Celebrity Shakedown’

Tyra Banks
Demanding $50,000 in Court …
Over ‘Celebrity Shakedown’

Published
February 24, 2026
1:00 AM PST

Tyra Banks is embroiled in a nasty court battle over her Ice Cream company — claiming a landlord is attempting a “celebrity shakedown.”

In court docs, Tyra … who is battling with a Washington D.C. landlord over a scrapped plan to open an ice cream shop … is now seeking more than $50,000 in sanctions from the landlord who tried to drag her to court.

Tyra said the landlord knows she lives in Australia and has no real ties to America or D.C., where the lawsuit was filed. She said her move to the land Down Under was well-publicized, and the landlord should have been aware.

It all started back in October 2025, when a building owner named Christopher Powell — by and through his company — sued Tyra and her business partner and boyfriend, Louis Bélanger-Martin.

According to the lawsuit, Powell was in talks with Tyra and Louis to open a location for her ice cream company, Smize & Dream, inside his building in Washington, D.C.

He claims Tyra told him the D.C. location would be the flagship store and would also help underserved young people in Washington.

The landlord said Tyra and her business partner signed a 10-year lease for the location in April 2024. He claims he spent thousands to fix the space up.

The suit alleges Tyra went behind his back and opened a location in Sydney, Australia. Christopher said he was upset because he turned down other tenants to sign the lease with her, which caused him to lose money.

Per court docs, Tyra and her boyfriend abandoned the D.C. location in June 2024 and refused to pay rent.  The lawsuit says Tyra “weaponized” her celebrity influence to deter him from suing her. Christopher demanded an excess of $2.8 million in damages.

Tyra denied all allegations of wrongdoing. She claimed she terminated the lease for valid reasons, which led to the landlord demanding $2.9 million, which Tyra called a “celebrity shakedown.”

The landlord eventually voluntarily dismissed the case back in December … but Tyra is now seeking sanctions for having to defend herself in the first place and wants the judge to send a strong message to the landlord.