Model and television personality Tyra Banks is suing Netflix and the creators of a recent documentary about her former reality show “America’s Next Top Model,” alleging the production damaged her reputation through misleading editing.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles over the weekend, centers on the three-part docuseries titled “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model,” which revisits the former reality competition show and the controversies that have followed it.
According to court filings, Banks argues that producers took a three-and-a-half hour interview and edited it to a 16-minute segment that failed to accurately reflect her views on the program.
She claims her comments were manipulated to “support a false and defamatory narrative unrelated to what she actually expressed,” adding that the documentary did not reflect that she took responsibility for some controversial decisions that were made on the show.
“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,” attorneys for Banks wrote in the complaint.
The Epoch Times reached out to Netflix for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.
“America’s Next Top Model” premiered in 2003 and ran for 24 seasons. The show followed aspiring models competing for the grand prize of a modeling contact, high-profile magazine spread, and major brand campaigns.
Banks, who created and hosted “America’s Next Top Model,” said she only agreed to participate in the documentary because she believed it would offer a candid explanation of the show’s success and shortcomings.
“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 reads. “She would have known she was being set up. She would not have participated.”
One segment revisits allegations made by former contestant Shandi Sullivan, who claimed she was sexually assaulted while filming season two of the show.
Banks maintains she was unaware of the allegations, and her responses were edited in a way that misrepresented her knowledge of and reaction to the incident.
“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,” reads the complaint.
“Ms. Banks respects Ms. Sullivan’s perspective and the courage it takes for Ms. Sullivan and others to speak up,” the suit continues. “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.”
