Tyra Banks sues Netflix for defamation, claims she was manipulated into participating in ‘ANTM’ doc

Tyra Banks is suing Netflix for defamation and claims she was manipulated into participating in the streamer’s “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model” documentary.

“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 lawsuit, which was filed on Saturday, reads, reports People.

“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,” the lawsuit continues. “During a three-and-a-half-hour interview, Ms. Banks answered questions about the show’s groundbreaking history, including criticism of decisions she would approach differently today.”

Of that three-hour interview, the former supermodel claims only 16 minutes of her talk with producers was used in the final product and that the clips that were used were “stripped of context and reassembled to support a false and defamatory narrative unrelated to what she actually expressed.”

“The Netflix series ‘Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model’ (the ‘Netflix Series’) was sold to viewers as a ‘documentary series,’ “the lawsuit continued.

“Netflix called it ‘the definitive, must-watch chronicle of America’s Next Top Model.’ 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,” the lawsuit adds.

As those who watched may recall, Banks took accountability for many of the controversial storylines that appeared on the reality modeling competition series.

While some of her comments were dismissed from the cleared edit, Banks also seems to take issue with some of the topics that were left — namely, former contestant Shandi Sullivan’s testimony from the show.

In the docuseries, Sullivan recalls being sexually assaulted by a male model during the Cycle 2 contestants’ stay in Italy. Video from the season showed Sullivan drinking wine and partying with the girls and some other male models before climbing into bed with one of them.

The former model told viewers that she was blacked out when the interaction took place. But, the reality program framed the incident as a cheating scandal (Sullivan had a boyfriend at the time) rather than an assault.

In another clip, it shows Banks in a confessional admitting to knowing about the assault but she claimed she was not involved in production or the editing of storylines.

The lawsuit goes on: “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.”

Banks also shot back at claims that she shut down production during one cycle after a crew member reported that a regular ANTM cast member engaged in inappropriate conduct.

“That response would not have been hypothetical. It would have been 20 based on what Ms. Banks actually did during one cycle after a person on the crew reported directly to Ms. Banks that another regular member of the ANTM cast had engaged in a pattern of inappropriate sexual conduct during production of ANTM,” the lawsuit continues.

“Ms. Banks immediately shared the report with other executives and ensured the issue was escalated to the network,” the lawsuit adds. “Ms. Banks acted promptly and gave the matter the serious attention it deserved. In response, production was paused so the entire cast and crew could undergo sexual harassment training conducted by an outside expert.”

Banks is asking for a jury trial to determine the “appropriate” amount she should receive in damages.

A rep for the model did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.