{"id":740634,"date":"2026-06-16T14:17:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T14:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/740634\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T14:17:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T14:17:13","slug":"tyra-banks-sues-netflix-over-americas-next-top-model-documentary-alleging-defamation-television","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/740634\/","title":{"rendered":"Tyra Banks sues Netflix over America\u2019s Next Top Model documentary, alleging defamation | Television"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tyra Banks has filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix and the directors of its docuseries Reality Check: Inside America\u2019s Next Top Model<\/a>, alleging that the producers stripped down hours of interview footage to construct a false narrative.<\/p>\n

In the lawsuit filed on Saturday in Los Angeles federal court, the model who created and hosted reality series America\u2019s Next Top Model said she had been interviewed for three and a half hours, during which she took responsibility for some of the show\u2019s controversial decisions. Those interviews were edited down to 16 minutes and manipulated \u201cto support a false and defamatory narrative unrelated to what she actually expressed\u201d, the lawsuit claims.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe accountability Ms. Banks took ended up on the cutting room floor,\u201d her lawyers wrote. \u201cIt was there, but viewers were never given the opportunity to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Banks is seeking damages in her lawsuit against Netflix<\/a>, the directors Daniel Sivan and Mor Loushy and EverWonder Studio. She\u2019s also seeking an injunction barring the use of her image in connection with the docuseries\u2019 soundtrack, released as an album.<\/p>\n

Emails seeking comments were sent to the defendants\u2019 representatives on Sunday.<\/p>\n

America\u2019s Next Top Model launched in 2003 and ran for 24 seasons. The reality competition series has since undergone a critical re-evaluation over accusations of body shaming, manipulation of contestants and problematic photoshoots. Banks has previously addressed those criticisms, acknowledging \u201cthe insensitivity of past ANTM moments\u201d and \u201csome really off choices\u201d.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit contends that the producers of the Netflix docuseries used \u201cselective editing, deliberate omission, and surgical manipulation of continuous footage\u201d to formulate a narrative that Banks allowed a contestant to be sexually assaulted on the show, used the contestant\u2019s trauma to drum up ratings, and then couldn\u2019t remember it when asked during the interviews.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefendants 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,\u201d the lawsuit stated, contending that Banks hadn\u2019t been told \u2013 or asked \u2013 about the assault during the interview.<\/p>\n

Banks\u2019 lawyers wrote that she hadn\u2019t been permitted to review the docuseries until a day before its release on 16 February. According to the lawsuit, she had not been contacted for fact-checking after her interviews, and was not given an opportunity to respond to accusations from other participants.<\/p>\n

The lawyers reached out to Netflix in March to request access to the full footage of their client\u2019s interviews. Netflix and EverWonder denied that request, according to the lawsuit. Since the docuseries\u2019 release, public reaction has been \u201cswift, harsh, and directed squarely at Ms. Banks\u201d \u2014 even SMiZE + DREAM, her ice cream shop in Sydney, Australia, has been subject to review bombing on Google, the lawsuit read.<\/p>\n

The Associated Press sent an email seeking further detail from Banks\u2019 lawyers and representatives on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery other conversation about ANTM\u2019s legacy \u2014 including the candid reflection Ms. Banks came prepared to have \u2013 is now drowned out by an accusation she was never given the chance to answer,\u201d her lawyers wrote. \u201cThis lawsuit is that answer \u2013 particularly after her efforts to resolve the matter directly with Netflix and the producers were refused.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tyra Banks has filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix and the directors of its docuseries Reality Check: Inside…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":740635,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[49,48,75],"class_list":["post-740634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=740634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/740635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=740634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=740634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=740634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}