Tyra Banks has recently filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix and the directors of the docuseries “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model.”
She claims that the producers edited hours of interview footage to create a misleading story.
In the lawsuit submitted on Saturday in a Los Angeles federal court, Banks, who created and hosted America’s Next Top Model, stated that she was interviewed for three and a half hours, during which she accepted responsibility for some controversial decisions made on the show.
However, those interviews were cut down to just 16 minutes and altered to promote a false and defamatory narrative that did not reflect her actual statements, according to the lawsuit.
“The accountability Ms. Banks took ended up on the cutting room floor. It was there, but viewers were never given the opportunity to see it,” her lawyers noted.
In her lawsuit, Banks is seeking damages from Netflix, directors Daniel Sivan and Mor Loushy, and EverWonder Studio. She is also requesting an injunction to prevent the use of her image in relation to the docuseries’ soundtrack, which was released as an album.
Emails were sent on Sunday to the defendants’ representatives for comments.
Lawsuit says docuseries producers deliberately manipulated footage
The lawsuit claims that the producers of the Netflix docuseries used selective editing, deliberate omission, and surgical manipulation of continuous footage to create a narrative suggesting that Banks allowed a contestant to be harassed on the show, exploited the contestant’s trauma for ratings, and then failed to recall it during the interviews.
America’s Next Top Model premiered in 2003 and lasted for 24 seasons.
In recent years, the reality competition series has faced critical reassessment due to allegations of body shaming, contestant manipulation, and problematic photoshoots.
Banks has previously responded to these criticisms, recognising the insensitivity of past ANTM moments and some strange choices on the show.
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