Tyra Banks sues Netflix over America’s Next Top Model docuseries, alleges defamation: ‘Was set up’

Tyra Banks is taking legal action against Netflix, accusing the streaming giant and the makers of a documentary series about America’s Next Top Model of misrepresenting her through heavily edited interview footage, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court.

According to The Associated Press, the model, entrepreneur and longtime host of America’s Next Top Model alleges that more than three hours of interviews she gave for Netflix's Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model were condensed into just 16 minutes, creating what her legal team describes as a “false and defamatory narrative.”

According to the lawsuit filed on Saturday, Banks spent roughly 3½ hours discussing the reality show's legacy and acknowledged responsibility for some of its more controversial moments. However, her lawyers argue that much of that accountability never made it into the final cut.

“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,” her lawyers wrote.

Banks is seeking damages from Netflix, directors Daniel Sivan and Mor Loushy, and EverWonder Studio. She is also asking the court to block the use of her image in connection with the docuseries’ soundtrack album.

First launched in 2003, America’s Next Top Model ran for 24 seasons and became one of reality television’s most recognisable franchises. In recent years, however, the show has faced renewed scrutiny over allegations of body shaming, contestant manipulation and controversial photoshoots. Banks herself has previously acknowledged “the insensitivity of past ANTM moments” and “some really off choices.”

At the heart of the lawsuit is the claim that the filmmakers used “selective editing, deliberate omission, and surgical manipulation of continuous footage” to portray Banks as someone who knowingly allowed a contestant to be assaulted, exploited that trauma for ratings and later failed to remember the incident when questioned about it.

“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,” the lawsuit stated.

Banks maintains she was never informed that the interview would cover the alleged assault and was not directly asked about it during filming.

Her legal team further claims she was not given an opportunity to review the documentary until a day before its February 16 release. The lawsuit alleges that producers never contacted her for fact-checking after the interviews and did not allow her to respond to allegations raised by other participants. It also notes that several former judges from the show were involved in consulting on the project, including one whom Banks’ lawyers say harbours a personal grudge against her.

“Had Ms. Banks known these individuals were so deeply involved in the formulation of the Netflix Series, also serving as consultants shaping the editorial direction, and that she had been excluded from such a role, it would have raised a red flag,” the lawsuit read. “She would have known she was being set up. She would not have participated.”

The filing also claims that Banks’ lawyers sought access to the complete interview footage in March, but that Netflix and EverWonder declined the request.

Since the documentary’s release, the lawsuit says, backlash against Banks has been significant. Her Sydney-based ice cream venture, SMiZE & DREAM, was allegedly targeted with negative Google reviews following the series.

With inputs and quotes from Associated Press