{"id":3477,"date":"2026-06-14T02:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T02:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/2026\/06\/14\/tyra-banks-sues-netflix-for-defamation-over-americas-next-top-model-docuseries\/"},"modified":"2026-06-14T02:01:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T02:01:00","slug":"tyra-banks-sues-netflix-for-defamation-over-americas-next-top-model-docuseries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/2026\/06\/14\/tyra-banks-sues-netflix-for-defamation-over-americas-next-top-model-docuseries\/","title":{"rendered":"Tyra Banks Sues Netflix for Defamation Over \u2018America\u2019s Next Top Model\u2019 Docuseries"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\tTyra Banks<\/a> filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix on Saturday, claiming that her portrayal in the America\u2019s Next Top Model<\/em> docuseries, Reality Check<\/a><\/em>, which the streamer released in February, was edited to support a false narrative.<\/p>\n

\tIn the suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Banks\u2019 attorneys say she participated in a three-and-a-half-hour interview about the show\u2019s legacy and decisions she would approach differently today. But, the suit claims, just 16 minutes of her comments were used in the three-part docuseries and they were\u201dstripped of context and\u00a0reassembled to support a false and defamatory narrative unrelated to what she\u00a0actually expressed.\u201d Her lawyers argue that the accountability she took for some of Top Model<\/em>\u2018s most controversial moments was edited out. \t<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWorse, the false narrative the producers constructed \u2014 through\u00a0selective editing, deliberate omission and surgical manipulation of continuous\u00a0footage \u2014 included that Ms. Banks knowingly allowed a contestant to be sexually\u00a0assaulted on her show, exploited that contestant\u2019s trauma for ratings and then could\u00a0not even remember it when asked,\u201d the lawsuit states. \u201cThat narrative about Ms. Banks is a complete\u00a0fabrication \u2014\u00a0one that Netflix streamed to a global audience of millions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tSpecifically, the lawsuit takes issue with how Banks is shown responding to cycle two contestant Shandi Sullivan\u2019s alleged sexual assault, which she discusses in the show, saying she was blacked out when she\u2019s shown getting into bed with a male model and accusing the shows production team of framing the incident as her cheating on her boyfriend instead of what she considered to be assault. \t<\/p>\n

\tWhen Banks is asked about Sullivan in Reality Check<\/em>, she claims she had no involvement in production and editing on the series and was unaware that Sullivan viewers what happened to her as assault. Indeed, she\u2019s shown being asked \u201cYou remember the story with Shandi?\u201d and Banks responds \u201cum,\u201d before the screen cuts to black, creating a \u201cdevastating and deliberate\u201d implication that Banks couldn\u2019t remember the assault.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cBut that was false,\u201d Banks\u2019 attorneys claim. \u201cThe full footage of Ms. Banks\u2019 interview reveals two things that the producers cut out and did not show viewers in Episode 1: before the upward glance, Ms. Banks nods\u2014affirmatively, unmistakably\u2014and immediately says, \u2018I do remember her story.\u2019 By carving the nod out of the middle of the sequence and cutting off Ms. Banks\u2019 comment at the end, the producers ensured that viewers would see only the lie and not the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cDefendants edited the Netflix Series to make it appear that Ms. Banks knew she was being asked about a sexual assault and was intentionally trying to evade the topic,\u201d the lawsuit states. \u201cMs. Banks respects Ms. Sullivan\u2019s perspective and the courage it takes for Ms. Sullivan and others to speak up.\u201d
\u201cMs. Banks wishes somebody involved with the Netflix series would have told her what Ms. Sullivan shared with them,\u201d the suit continues. \u201cBut they deliberately chose not to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tIn the lawsuit, Banks also responds to the \u201churtful\u201d allegations that she hadn\u2019t gotten in touch with Top Model<\/em> judge Miss J Alexander after his stroke, which he opens up about on the docuseries. \t<\/p>\n

\t\u201cHad the producers informed Ms. Banks that part of the Netflix series narrative would include Miss J saying that Ms. Banks never visited him in the hospital, Ms. Banks would have explained that she had been living in Australia for two-and-a-half years,\u201d the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n

\tAnd, the suit contends, she would have shown text chains with Miss J and his family, revealing how she tried to get in touch with him, after she heard of his stroke.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cShe would have shown how hard she tried to get in touch with Miss J personally when she had initially heard the news of his stroke,\u201d the suit states. \u201cAnd she would have shown the text message that arrived from Miss J\u2019s family member who eventually texted back months later and apologized for not responding to Ms. Banks\u2019 texts and multiple calls sooner due to her being focused on getting him better.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cMs. Banks would have explained that after that contact, she and Miss J spent three years communicating. They spoke live on the phone at least once. They exchanged voice notes, many photos, and video messages,\u201d the lawsuit continues. \u201cThey texted numerous times. As recently as Christmas Day 2025, Ms. Banks and Miss J exchanged holiday messages and he updated Ms. Banks about his improved health. She replied, \u201cYesssssss Can we speak this week?\u201d They never spoke. Just weeks later, the Netflix Series streamed to a worldwide audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe suit claims the docuseries caused \u201csignificant harm and damage\u201d to Banks\u2019 personal brand. The suit contends online ratings for her SMIZE & DREAM ice cream business have \u201cplummeted\u201d since the docuseries aired. \t<\/p>\n

\tIn the suit, Banks\u2019 lawyers claim she\u2019s likely to suffer economic damage including \u201closs of future business opportunities, loss of business income, other compounding losses as will be shown at trial.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tBanks is requesting a jury trial to determine the amount she should be awarded in damages.<\/p>\n

\tNetflix has not yet responded to \u30cf\u30ea\u30a6\u30c3\u30c9\u30fb\u30ea\u30dd\u30fc\u30bf\u30fc<\/em>\u2018s request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tyra Banks filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix on Saturday, claiming that her portrayal in the America\u2019s Next Top Model docuseries, Reality Check, which the streamer released in February, was edited to support a false narrative. In the suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Banks\u2019 attorneys say she participated in a three-and-a-half-hour interview about the show\u2019s legacy and decisions she would approach differently today. But, the suit claims, just 16 minutes of her comments were used in the three-part docuseries and they were\u201dstripped of context and\u00a0reassembled to support a false and defamatory narrative unrelated to what she\u00a0actually expressed.\u201d Her lawyers argue that the accountability […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2003,492,2004,2,85,86,2005],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-americas-next-top-model","category-documentary","category-fairly-legal","category-hollywood","category-tv","category-tv-news","category-tyra-banks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsmag.live\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}