Tyra Banks sues Netflix for defamation over America's Next Top Model documentary

The lawsuit

Tyra Banks filed a defamation lawsuit on Saturday in Los Angeles federal court against Netflix, directors Daniel Sivan and Mor Loushy, and EverWonder Studio over the docuseries "Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model." Banks, who created and hosted the long-running competition show "America's Next Top Model" (ANTM), alleges that the producers selectively edited a 3.5-hour interview she gave for the project, reducing it to 16 minutes of footage that was then manipulated to support a false narrative.

“The accountability Ms Banks took ended up on the cutting room floor. It was there, but viewers were never given the opportunity to see it.”

The editing allegations

The lawsuit claims the final cut was assembled through "selective editing, deliberate omission, and surgical manipulation of continuous footage" to make it appear that Banks knowingly allowed a contestant to be sexually assaulted during the show's production. According to the filing, the documentary also suggested she used the resulting trauma to boost ratings and then, when asked about the incident during the interview, feigned forgetting it. Banks's legal team counters that she was never asked or informed about the sexual assault during the interview session.

“Defendants edited the Netflix series to make it appear that Ms Banks knew she was being asked about a sexual assault and was intentionally trying to evade the topic.”

What Banks seeks

Banks is demanding a jury trial and unspecified damages for emotional distress. She is also seeking an injunction to prevent Netflix and the other defendants from using her image in connection with the docuseries' soundtrack, which was released as an album. The lawsuit states that Banks was not permitted to review the series until a day before its release, implying she had little chance to contest the editing.

ANTM's contested legacy

"America's Next Top Model" launched in 2003 and aired 24 cycles, becoming a cultural phenomenon while also attracting criticism in recent years. Accusations of body-shaming, psychological manipulation of contestants, and racially insensitive photoshoots have prompted a critical re-evaluation of the series. Banks has publicly acknowledged "the insensitivity of past ANTM moments" and "some really off choices," but the Netflix documentary purports to take a deeper look at the show's behind-the-scenes conduct.

No response yet

Emails sent to representatives for Netflix and the other defendants on Sunday had not received a reply at the time of reporting. Multiple outlets, including The New York Times and Deadline, reported that Netflix initially declined to comment. The case is likely to turn on whether the editing crossed from critical documentary-making into defamatory misrepresentation.