Tyra Banks sues Netflix over ‘America’s Next Top Model’ doc

Tyra Banks filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix on Saturday, accusing the streaming giant of manipulating her into participating in a bombshell documentary about her former reality show “America’s Next Top Model.” Netflix’s “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model” chronicles both the show’s historic successes and its controversies, including an early contestant claiming she was sexually assaulted on camera, another undergoing cosmetic surgery to remain in the competition, and a challenge that required contestants to wear blackface. Banks participated in the three-part documentary, which drew significant attention for examining the exploitative nature of early reality television. She now alleges that her confessionals were “stripped of context and reassembled to support a false and defamatory narrative unrelated to what she actually expressed.” “The false narrative the producers constructed — through selective editing, deliberate omission, and surgical manipulation of continuous footage — included that Ms. Banks knowingly allowed a contestant to be sexually assaulted on her show, exploited that contestant’s trauma for ratings, and then could not even remember it when asked,” the lawsuit states. “That narrative about Ms. Banks is a complete fabrication — one that Netflix streamed to a global audience of millions.” Netflix declined to comment. Banks says she agreed to participate because she believed viewers deserved “candid conversation about the show’s legacy — its successes and its shortcomings.” The suit notes that Netflix aired only 16 minutes of a 3 1/2-hour interview in which she placed no restrictions on the topics she could be asked about. The lawsuit accuses Netflix producers of selectively editing portions of Banks’ interview to make it seem like she was responding to questions about a former contestant’s sexual assault — “something Ms. Banks had never heard before and was not told during her interview.” Contestant Shandi Sullivan claimed in the documentary that she was assaulted during filming of the show’s second season. “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 states. “Ms. Banks respects Ms. Sullivan’s perspective and the courage it takes for Ms. Sullivan and others to speak up.” “Ms. Banks wishes somebody involved with the Netflix Series would have told her what Ms. Sullivan shared with them,” the suit continues. “But they deliberately chose not to.” Sullivan did not immediately return a request for comment. Banks is seeking damages for “loss of future business opportunities, loss of business income, other compounding losses as will be shown at trial.” No specific monetary amount was listed. The suit alleges the documentary has caused “significant harm and damage to the personal brand she has worked for decades to build and maintain throughout the world,” adding that online ratings for her Sydney-based ice cream business, SMiZE & DREAM, have “plummeted” since the documentary aired. “America’s Next Top Model” premiered in 2003 and ran for 24 seasons across UPN, The CW and VH1 before ending in 2018. In the documentary, Banks expressed interest in producing a 25th season of the show, though it remains unclear whether another iteration of the series will materialize. “Every other conversation about ANTM’s legacy — including the candid reflection Ms. Banks came prepared to have — is now drowned out by an accusation she was never given the chance to answer,” the suit states.