Tyra Banks Sues Netflix for Defamation, Claims 'Manipulation' of Her Participation in “America’s Next Top Model ”Doc

Banks claims in the lawsuit that only 16 minutes of her three-and-a-half-hour interview were used in 'Reality Check: America's Next Top Model,' and that "accountability" was a major part of her conversation that wasn't featured

NEED TO KNOW

• On Saturday, June 13, Tyra Banks filed a lawsuit against Netflix regarding her portrayal in the docuseries Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model
• The lawsuit alleges that Netflix used just 16 minutes from her over three-hour interview “to support a false and defamatory narrative”
• Claims include that Banks didn’t know Shandi Sullivan took part in the docuseries and classified what happened to her as sexual assault, and that she wasn’t given an opportunity to respond to claims that she didn’t reach out to Miss J. Alexander following his stroke

Tyra Banks is firing back at Netflix following her appearance in Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model.

In a lawsuit filed on Saturday, June 13, Banks claims that her portrayal in the docuseries about her reality TV show, America's Next Top Model, is defamatory and was edited to support a false narrative. She is asking for a jury trial to determine the "appropriate" amount she should receive in damages, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.

"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 begins. "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.

"The Netflix series Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model (the 'Netflix Series') was sold to viewers as a 'documentary series,' "the lawsuit says. "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."

Banks is claiming that just 16 minutes of her lengthy interview was used in the docuseries, and that the clips were "stripped of context and reassembled to support a false and defamatory narrative unrelated to what she actually expressed."

She says the accountability she took for some of the most controversial moments in ANTM were edited out of the docuseries.

The lawsuit claims, "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." 

In the lawsuit, Banks calls out two "partially true" statements made by Mor Loushy, one of the directors and executive producers of the Netflix series.

The statements are that she had an “opportunity to really go deep into the debates” about ANTM and to “share her side of the story." In another interview, "Ms. Loushy said 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.' "

However, Kay Wicker, Reality Check director, allegedly said the documentary would have happened with or without Banks in an interview with TheGrio.

Banks "did share her side. Her answers were very honest. But the story that viewers heard was the deceptive story producers chose to tell," the lawsuit says.

Banks was the host of America's Next Top Model for the first 22 cycles after successfully landing her pitch for the show with UPN. The first cycle aired in 2003.

In the Netflix documentary, viewers were taken back to the beginning, when Banks first conceived the idea with the help of Ken Mok, who co-executive-produced the show with her and also took part in the docuseries. In the three-part project, Banks was asked to address head-on some of the more controversial moments from the show's tenure.

One of those topics was cycle 2 contestant Shandi Sullivan's alleged sexual assault, which she discusses at length in the Netflix program. She recalls the situation when the models were in Italy, and male models came over to their house. Shandi could be seen in the original episode drinking wine before getting in bed with one of the men. At the time, she had a boyfriend back home.

In the Netflix docuseries, she says she was blacked out at the time and accused the reality show's production team of framing it as a cheating scandal rather than what she considered to be assault.

Banks was asked about Shandi in Reality Check, and she claimed she had no involvement in production and the editing of storylines, even though Mok said that the contestants were all made aware that everything would be filmed — including "the good, the bad and everything in between."

In the lawsuit, Banks claims that she was unaware that Shandi was participating in the docuseries and that she classified what happened to her as sexual assault.

"The implication is devastating and deliberate: that Tyra Banks cannot even remember the story of the woman who was assaulted on her show," the lawsuit says. "But that was false. The full footage of Ms. Banks' interview reveals two things that the producers cut out and did not show viewers in Episode 1: before the upward glance, Ms. Banks nods—affirmatively, unmistakably—and immediately says, 'I do remember her story.' By carving the nod out of the middle of the sequence and cutting off Ms. Banks' comment at the end, the producers ensured that viewers would see only the lie and not the truth."

The lawsuit also addresses claims that she shut down production during one cycle after a crew member reported that a regular ANTM cast member was participating in inappropriate misconduct.

"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 says.

"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."

ANTM judge Miss J Alexander opened up about the health problems he has faced since his 2012 exit from the show in the Netflix docuseries, which debuted globally on Feb. 16.

When asked if Banks had visited him since his 2022 stroke, he said, "No, not yet. She just sent me a text, she wants to come to visit me. But no, not yet."

Days later on Feb. 19, Miss J appeared on Sherri Shepherd's daytime talk show Sherri alongside his former costars Nigel Barker and Jay Manuel.

Miss J said that Banks had "reached out," but still hadn't visited.

In her lawsuit against Netflix, Banks responded to the "hurtful" allegations that she never reached out or visited Miss J after his stroke that were depicted in the docuseries.

"Had 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 2 1/2 years," the lawsuit says.

Banks was allegedly not given an opportunity to show a text message sent to Miss J that went unanswered and text chains with other crew members trying to locate him after his stroke.

"She 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. And she would have shown the text message that arrived from Miss J's family member who eventually texted back months later and apologized for not responding to Ms. Banks' texts and multiple calls sooner due to her being focused on getting him better," the lawsuit says.

"Ms. 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," the lawsuit continues. "They 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, “Yesssssss Can we speak this week?” They never spoke. Just weeks later, the Netflix Series streamed to a worldwide audience."

"Again, the producers deprived viewers of truth by withholding from Ms. Banks the information about what others had said in their Netflix interviews and not providing her with an opportunity to respond. There are numerous other examples," the lawsuit says.

In response to the series "false and defamatory" portrayal of Banks, she is suing for "damages, including loss of future business opportunities, loss of business income, other compounding losses as will be shown at trial. "

Having also experienced "significant mental anguish," Banks is requesting a jury trial to determine compensation for her involvement in the Netflix series.

Netflix, EverWonder Studio, Wise Child Studio, Shandi Sullivan, Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

In the wake of the docuseries landing on Netflix earlier this year, several previous contestants and judges have spoken out about their time on the show and working with Banks in particular. While some of the models made allegations about mistreatment on the show, others defended Banks and the production.

Cycle 8 winner Jaslene González told PEOPLE that she has nothing but gratitude for Banks for helping further her career.

"My feeling with America's Next Top Model has not changed since day one," she told PEOPLE. "I continue to be a fan of the show and of Tyra and the legacy that it's left behind — especially with the way it's transformed my life in such a positive way."

PR pro Kelly Cutrone, who appeared as a panelist on cycles 18 through 22 of the show, also praised Banks' work and told PEOPLE that she believed the model would prevail in the end.

"She's done a lot for people, including the people who are out there trashing her right now, specifically the people who worked on the show," said Cutrone, who did not participate in the Netflix docuseries. "I think that 80 percent of [the docuseries] is incredibly twisted. I believe that the facts and the truth will come forward."

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