Tyra Banks Is Suing Mad Over Netflix Doc, Claims 'Manipulation & Defamation'

Tyra Banks filed a lawsuit against Netflix on Saturday in the wake of the controversial series "Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model," alleging the service cherry-picked her interview to portray her negatively.

In the docs, obtained by "Extra," Banks views the series as "defamatory" after she sat for an interview for more than three hours, with just 16 minutes used in the final edit.

"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. There are aspects of the show for which Ms. Banks takes accountability and she wanted 'ANTM' viewers to hear that from her directly," the lawsuit states.

It goes on, "Going into her interview, Ms. Banks did not limit the 'ANTM' topics the interviewer could ask. 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.' Netflix called it 'the definitive, must-watch chronicle of 'America's Next Top Model.' The genre matters," it argues. "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 asserts that the 16 minutes of her words was "stripped of context and reassembled" in a "false and defamatory way."

The lawsuit continues, "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." 

Banks points to a February interview in which one of the doc's directors, Mor Loushy, asserted it would have been produced with or without Banks sitting for an interview.

Banks, who co-created and hosted the show for 22 cycles, takes exception to being portrayed as having ignored an alleged sexual assault experienced by a contestant named Shandi. On the series, Banks appeared not to remember the assault.

Her suit argues, "The implication is devastating and deliberate: that Tyra Banks cannot even remember the story of the woman who was assaulted on her show. 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 suit also takes exception to the series' claim that Banks halted production over allegations a regular "ANTM" crew member was behaving inappropriately.

Her suit addresses this, stating, "Ms. Banks immediately shared the report with other executives and ensured the issue was escalated to the network. 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."

Tyra is also upset that the series aired comments by "ANTM" judge Miss J Alexander stating that she hadn't visited since Alexander's stroke.

"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 suit reads.

Banks is suing for damages that take into consideration "loss of future business opportunities, loss of business income" and "other compounding losses." She wants a jury trial.

Netflix, EverWonder Studio, Wise Child Studio, and the series' directors and producers have not yet commented on the lawsuit, which was filed Saturday.

Adrianne Curry, who won the first cycle of "ANTM" in 2003, reacted to the lawsuit news on Instagram.

Curry, who did not participate in the doc, shared a video saying, "I read that Tyra Banks is suing Netflix because she didn’t like being edited." Adrianne laughed, adding, "B**ch, for real, girl?"

She added in the caption, "Tyra doesnt like being 'edited.' Lol Welcome to the party, pal."