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Even those who celebrate Tyra Banks often view her as an almost cartoonishly malicious character.
Her on-screen behavior and antics reinforced this idea.
But Tyra says the Netflix doc released earlier this year went further, using dishonest editing.
She’s suing for defamation and more, saying her words were spliced to make it sound evil To the masses.
She’s filing a lawsuit against Netflix
On Saturday, June 13, Tyra filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix over her portrayal in the third film. The Real Choice: Inside America’s Next Top Model Docuseries from February.
Unlike some similar documentaries, Tyra actually participated — even if she avoided some topics, like her past friendship with Jay-Manuel.
In her legal file, which the people She obtained it, and alleged that the docuseries was maliciously edited to advance a false narrative against her.
Tyra is seeking a jury trial to determine “appropriate” compensation.
“[Tyra] She didn’t share her side. “Her answers were very honest,” the legal filing claims. “But the story viewers heard was the deceptive story the producers chose to tell.”
Tyra Banks participated in the Netflix documentary series [on] The filing stated that America’s Next Top Model (‘ANTM’).
“Because she thought viewers deserved a frank conversation about the show’s legacy, successes, and shortcomings,” the explanation continued.
Tyra’s team added, “There are aspects of the show that Ms. Banks takes responsibility for and she wanted ANTM viewers to hear that directly from her.”
In keeping with that goal, the filing says it “did not limit ANTM’s topics that the interviewer could ask.”
However, the filing claims that only 16 minutes of Tyra’s lengthy interview made it into the final documentary series.
Allegedly, we haven’t seen a portion of her responses to really pivotal topics
Tyra believes that the clips included in the docuseries were “stripped out of context and repackaged to support a false and defamatory narrative that has nothing to do with what she actually expressed.”
A big problem with the filing is that the doc was marketed as a documentary, with the filing saying that “genre matters.”
“Viewers of the documentary do not expect manufactured drama or constructed narratives,” the filing notes. “They expect facts.”
“Because they were promised a documentary, this is exactly how viewers responded to the Netflix series,” Tyra’s team says.
The recording highlights specific moments from the interviews — moments that Netflix editors allegedly spliced up to steal other context data, and to make Tyra appear more malicious.
Among the moments that Tyra claims were robbed of vital context were Shandi Sullivan’s sexual assault and Miss J’s stroke and recovery.
Her lawsuit isn’t just about damages.
Tyra is suing for “loss of future employment opportunities, loss of business income, and other compounding losses as will be shown at trial.”
She also wants compensation for being part of the series given the “significant mental suffering” she suffered in the aftermath.
This seems like a complex legal issue. We don’t know how a jury might rule. There is a non-zero chance that this will end in an out-of-court settlement of some sort. We’ll certainly be paying attention as this lawsuit unfolds.
