Tyra Banks is taking legal action against Netflix, filing a defamation lawsuit over the streaming platform's docuseries examining America's Next Top Model. According to the case, Banks is suing both Netflix and the director of the docuseries, which is titled Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model. The move marks a high-profile clash between the former host and the company behind the production.
At the heart of the lawsuit is the claim that the producers manipulated her contribution. The suit alleges that the producers cut down hours of interview footage in order to create a false narrative around Banks and the long-running modelling competition that she fronted for many years.
Court documents cited in the case point to a stark difference between how long Banks spoke and how much of it was used. She is claiming that she was interviewed for over three hours, but that those interviews were eventually cut down to just 16 minutes in the finished docuseries.
Banks also argues that important context was lost in the editing. During the lengthy interview, she says she took responsibility for some of the show's controversial decisions, a nuance that she contends was not properly reflected once the footage had been trimmed down for broadcast.
The lawsuit raises further questions about the production process itself. According to the filing, there was no fact-checking carried out after the interview, a point Banks uses to support her argument that the docuseries presented an inaccurate and damaging account of events.
Adding to her concerns, Banks claims that one of the other judges from the original show was involved behind the scenes. She alleges that this former judge, who had a grudge against her, consulted on the docuseries, which she suggests further shaped the unflattering portrayal at the centre of her complaint.