Tyra Banks is not holding back as she responds to Netflix following her appearance in “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model.” In a lawsuit filed on June 13, Banks alleges that her portrayal in the docuseries is defamatory, claiming it was manipulated to support a misleading narrative.
She is requesting a jury trial to determine a suitable amount for damages, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE. The lawsuit opens with a statement underscoring Banks’ intentions: “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.” Banks takes responsibility for certain aspects of the show and aimed to communicate that directly to the audience. Continuing on, the lawsuit asserts, “Going into her interview, Ms. Banks did not limit the ANTM topics the interviewer could ask.” During an extensive three-and-a-half-hour session, Banks responded to questions regarding the show’s groundbreaking impact, including addressing criticisms of her past decisions.
The lawsuit emphasizes that “The Netflix series Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model (the ‘Netflix Series’) was sold to viewers as a ‘documentary series.'” Netflix branded it as “the definitive, must-watch chronicle of America’s Next Top Model,” and the genre matters, as documentary viewers expect factual content rather than fabricated drama. “Because they were promised a documentary, that is exactly how viewers interacted with the Netflix Series,” it states.
Banks contends that only 16 minutes of her lengthy interview made it into the docuseries, and that the snippets presented were “stripped of context and reassembled to support a false and defamatory narrative unrelated to what she actually expressed.” She claims that her accountability for some of ANTM’s most controversial moments was largely omitted.
The lawsuit further alleges, “Worse, 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. That narrative about Ms. Banks is a complete fabrication—one that Netflix streamed to a global audience of millions.”
Additionally, Banks calls out two statements made by Mor Loushy, a director and executive producer of the Netflix series, which were described as “partially true.” Loushy suggested that Banks had an “opportunity to really go deep into the debates” about ANTM and to “share her side of the story.” In another interview, she stated, “Ms. Banks was ready to speak, and I think that a lot of her answers were very honest. And it’s all in the show, really.”
In contrast, Kay Wicker, the director of “Reality Check,” allegedly remarked that the documentary would have been produced regardless of Banks’ involvement, as reported by TheGrio.
The lawsuit concludes, “Banks did share her side. Her answers were very honest. But the story that viewers heard was the deceptive story producers chose to tell.”
Tyra Banks was the face of “America’s Next Top Model” for the first 22 cycles, having successfully pitched the show to UPN, with the inaugural season debuting in 2003.