Netflix has asked a judge to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by Tyra Banks over how she was depicted in its documentary series about America's Next Top Model.
The streaming platform filed legal documents on Friday, reviewed by the Daily Mail, requesting that a judge throw out defamation claims brought by the 52-year-old supermodel in June. Banks claims that producers of the February docuseries, titled Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, edited her interview footage to create a false narrative.
Banks is an American supermodel, television personality, and executive producer who created America's Next Top Model after pitching the show to UPN. The reality competition debuted in 2003, with Banks hosting the series for its first 22 cycles as it grew into a global television franchise.
Netflix Legal Defense and Filmmaker Statement
In a statement to the Daily Mail, a representative for Netflix defended directors Daniel Sivan and Mor Loushy as "respected documentarians who thoroughly interviewed the people behind America’s Next Top Model."
The representative added: "Tyra Banks was given the opportunity to speak openly about her experience and the creators fairly presented her perspective alongside those of every other participant shown in this documentary. We stand behind Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model and will continue to vigorously defend it."
Sources close to Netflix told the Daily Mail that the creative team had been clear from the start that while Banks was involved in the project, as it was important to have her perspective included, she had no editorial control over it. The sources added that her legal complaint came months after the show began streaming, stating that Netflix's latest motion shows the lawsuit "to be baseless in every respect."
Netflix, based in Los Gatos, California, is one of the world's largest subscription video-on-demand streaming services, regularly producing retrospective and investigative docuseries about major entertainment franchises.
Defamation Allegations and Interview Edits
Legal documents obtained by TMZ show that Banks filed her complaint in June, alleging that producers relied on 16 minutes of footage from an interview lasting more than three hours and edited it to construct a "false and defamatory narrative."
Banks' complaint argues that the docuseries used "selective editing, deliberate omission, and surgical manipulation" of footage to create a false and misleading impression, including "that Ms. Banks knowingly allowed a contestant to be sexually assaulted on her show."
The lawsuit also alleges that the series suggested Banks exploited the contestant's trauma for ratings, and later failed to recall the incident when questioned by interviewers.
Contestant Allegations and Incident Disputes
A central focus of the docuseries is Cycle 2 contestant Shandi Sullivan’s allegation that she was not properly protected after a sexual assault involving a guest during filming. Sullivan claims the incident was later reframed on the show as an infidelity storyline, a portrayal that Banks disputes.
In the lawsuit, Banks states she was not aware Sullivan would be participating in the documentary and insists she has acknowledged the incident as a sexual assault. The filing calls the docuseries' implication that she "cannot even remember" the case "devastating and deliberate."
America's Next Top Model was a popular American reality competition show where aspiring models competed for a career in the fashion industry. Over its broadcast history, the series became known for high-stress photo shoots and controversial storyline edits.
Lawsuit Arguments and Damages Requested
According to court filings, the lawsuit begins by stating: "Tyra Banks participated in the Netflix documentary series America’s Next Top Model (‘ANTM’) because she believed viewers deserved a candid conversation about the show's legacy: its successes and its shortcomings."
The filing continues: "There are aspects of the show for which Ms. Banks takes accountability and she wanted ANTM viewers to hear that from her directly. Going into her interview, Ms. Banks did not limit the ANTM topics the interviewer could ask."
Over the course of a three-and-a-half-hour interview, Banks answered questions about the show’s impact and its groundbreaking history, including criticism of decisions she made. The lawsuit notes that Netflix sold the series to viewers as a "documentary series" and called it "the definitive, must-watch chronicle of America’s Next Top Model."
The lawsuit emphasizes: "The genre matters. Viewers of a documentary do not expect manufactured drama or constructed narratives. They expect facts. Because they were promised a documentary, that is exactly how viewers interacted with the Netflix series."
Banks alleges that clips were "stripped of context and reassembled to support a false and defamatory narrative unrelated to what she actually expressed," and that moments where she accepted responsibility for controversial incidents were omitted from the final cut. She is requesting a jury trial to determine the "appropriate" amount in damages. The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Banks for comment but has not yet heard back.
