Tyra Banks filed a lawsuit against Netflix on Saturday, alleging the streaming service manipulated her testimony in its recent documentary series Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model. The lawsuit claims defamation and accuses the platform of editing her interview in ways that misrepresented her statements and positions.
The suit names Netflix, 89 Blocks Holdings, EverWonder Studio, Netflix Music, and co-directors Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan as defendants. Banks is pursuing claims for false light, defamation by implication, breach of contract, and false endorsement. According to the filing, her participation was used in ways that violated the terms under which she agreed to be interviewed.
Banks created and hosted America's Next Top Model, which ran from 2003 to 2018 and became a defining force in reality television. The show launched modeling careers and influenced fashion competition programming for years. Netflix's documentary examined the series and its impact through interviews with former contestants and figures connected to the production.
The heart of the lawsuit concerns how Banks' words were presented in the final documentary. According to the filing, the editing created false implications that harm her reputation. Banks states that viewers received a misleading impression of her statements regarding the show and its controversies.
According to the documentary's directors, Banks was given no advance questions, no approval over her presentation, and could only watch the finished series when it premiered publicly. "She had no say, no influence, no anything," co-director Mor Loushy told Vanity Fair. The directors said Banks agreed to participate so she could tell her side of the story and express her intentions to make modeling more inclusive.
The documentary has been a major success for Netflix, drawing over 14 million views in its first week and topping the platform's English-language charts. However, the series sparked significant criticism from former contestants and judges, many of whom felt Banks failed to take adequate responsibility for the show's toxic elements, including body-shaming and poor duty of care.
During the documentary, Banks acknowledged going "too far" with a famous confrontation with contestant Tiffany Richardson in cycle four, saying "You know, I lost it." However, former judges and contestants expressed frustration with what they viewed as insufficient accountability. Former judge Jay Manuel said Banks was not "willing to be a little more vulnerable" and that viewers saw "Television Tyra" rather than genuine remorse.
The lawsuit raises important questions about documentary editing practices and the responsibilities filmmakers have toward interview subjects. Banks seeks damages for what she describes as harm to her professional reputation and violations of her participation agreement.
Netflix has not publicly responded to the lawsuit. The case represents a significant legal challenge for the streaming platform and the documentary's production team.