Banks is suing the streamer for defamation, claiming producers cut a three-hour interview down to fragments that created a narrative she never intended to tell.

Tyra Banks filed a lawsuit Saturday against Netflix and several of its production partners, alleging that her interview for the docuseries Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model was edited in a way that fabricated a narrative she never expressed and damaged her reputation in front of a global audience.

The suit names Netflix, 89 Blocks Holdings, EverWonder Studio, Netflix Music, and co-directors Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan. Banks is pursuing claims of defamation, defamation by implication, false light, breach of contract, and false endorsement. She is requesting a jury trial and seeking damages for reputational harm, lost business opportunities, lost income, and mental anguish.

Three and a half hours became 16 minutes

According to the lawsuit, obtained by Variety, Banks sat for a three-and-a-half-hour interview that was reduced to roughly 16 minutes in the final cut. Her legal team argues that what remained was reassembled to support conclusions she never reached and omitted the portions where she directly acknowledged criticism of the show and accepted responsibility for certain decisions.

Banks says she participated in the documentary with the intent of having an open and candid conversation about the legacy of America’s Next Top Model, including its failures. The lawsuit states that the accountability she offered never appeared in the series.

The most serious allegation involves a former contestant

The lawsuit identifies what it calls one of the most damaging examples of editorial manipulation, involving former contestant Shandi Sullivan, who appeared in Cycle 2 of the show. In the documentary, Sullivan describes an experience during filming in Milan as a sexual assault, characterizing it differently than it had been presented when it originally aired.

According to the suit, Banks was not told during her own interview that Sullivan was reframing the incident in those terms. Despite not having that information, director Loushy asked Banks whether she remembered Sullivan’s story. The series then shows Banks glance upward, say a single word, and cut to black. The lawsuit argues the edit was constructed to imply that Banks could not recall the story of a woman who was assaulted on her show.

Banks’ legal team states that the unedited footage shows her nodding and confirming that she did remember Sullivan’s story. That response did not appear in the documentary.

A second dispute involves a former colleague

The lawsuit also addresses how Banks’ relationship with longtime America’s Next Top Model judge J. Alexander was portrayed. The documentary included Alexander stating that Banks had not been in contact with him after he suffered a stroke in 2022. According to the suit, She was not given an opportunity to respond to that claim during filming.

The lawsuit states that Banks, who was living in Australia at the time, made repeated efforts to reach Alexander and his family through texts, voice messages, and calls. Her legal team argues that the omission of any rebuttal left viewers with a false picture of how the two had communicated during that period.

What Banks says the show actually was

Banks hosted America’s Next Top Model for 22 cycles beginning in 2003. The show ran through 2018 and became one of the most recognized reality competition formats of its era. In recent years, former contestants and critics have revisited some of its most controversial moments, prompting wider conversations about how participants were treated.

The lawsuit does not dispute that the show had problems worth examining. Her argument is that she was prepared to engage with those questions honestly and that the documentary chose a different path instead.

Netflix has not responded publicly

As of Saturday, Netflix and the named production companies had not issued a public response to the lawsuit. Variety, which obtained the court filing, reported that representatives for Netflix did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The case raises questions that go beyond one interview. Documentaries built around archival footage and subject interviews carry editorial power that subjects often have little ability to contest until a film is already in front of an audience. Banks is now asking a jury to decide whether the version of her that Netflix presented was one she ever actually gave them.