Tyra Banks filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix on Saturday, alleging her portrayal in a movie America’s Next Top Model docuseries, Reality checkwhich the streamer released in February, was edited to support a false narrative.
In the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Banks’ lawyers say she participated in a three-and-a-half-hour interview about the show’s legacy and decisions she would make differently today. But, the suit alleges, only 16 minutes of her comments were used in the three-part docuseries, and they were “stripped out of context and repackaged to support a false and defamatory narrative that has no connection to what she actually expressed.” Her lawyers say she took responsibility for some Top modelThe most controversial moments were deleted.
“What’s worse is that the false narrative constructed by the producers — through selective editing, intentional omissions, and surgical manipulation of ongoing footage — included that Ms. Banks intentionally allowed a contestant to be sexually assaulted on her show, exploited that contestant’s trauma to gain ratings, and then couldn’t even remember it when asked,” the suit says. “This account of Ms. Banks is a complete fabrication – one broadcast by Netflix to a global audience of millions.”
Specifically, the lawsuit addresses how Banks responded to contestant Shandi Sullivan’s alleged sexual assault in the second cycle, which she discussed on the show, saying she was blacked out when she was shown getting into bed with a model and accusing the show’s production team of framing the incident as her cheating on her boyfriend rather than what she saw as assault.
When Banks is asked about Sullivan Reality checkShe claims she was not involved in the production and editing of the series and Sullivan’s viewers were not made aware of what happened to her as an assault. In fact, she was shown being asked, “Do you remember the story with Shandi?” Banks responds with the word “Mother”, before the screen fades to black, creating a “devastating and deliberate” implication that Banks was unable to remember the assault.
“This was false,” Banks’ lawyers claim. “The full footage of Ms. Banks’ interview reveals two things that the producers cut that were not shown to viewers in the first episode: Before the upward look, Ms. Banks nods her head — unequivocally positively — and immediately says, ‘I remember her story.'” By carving out the gesture from the middle of the scene and cutting Ms. Banks’ comment at the end, the producers ensured that viewers would see only the lie and not the truth.
“Defendants edited the Netflix series to make it appear that Ms. Banks knew she was being asked about a sexual assault and was intentionally trying to evade the topic,” the lawsuit states. “Ms. Banks respects Ms. Sullivan’s point of view and the courage Ms. Sullivan and others have to speak out.”
“Ms. Banks wishes that someone involved in the Netflix series would tell her what Ms. Sullivan shared with them,” the lawsuit continues. “But they deliberately chose not to do so.”
In the lawsuit, Banks also responds to “hurtful” allegations that she has not reached out to her Top model Judge Miss J. Alexander after suffering a stroke, which he opened up in the docuseries.
“If the producers had informed Ms. Banks that part of the narration of the Netflix series would include Ms. J saying that Ms. Banks had never visited him in hospital, Ms. Banks would have made it clear that she had been living in Australia for two and a half years,” the lawsuit said.
She would show text chains with Miss J and his family, revealing how she tried to contact him after hearing about his stroke, the suit says.
“She demonstrated how difficult it was for her to try to communicate with Miss G in person when she initially heard the news of his stroke,” the lawsuit said. “It would show the text message that came from a member of Miss J’s family who texted months later and apologized for not responding to Ms Banks’s texts and multiple calls sooner due to her focus on improving his condition.
“Ms. Banks had stated that after this contact, she and Miss J spent three years communicating. They spoke directly by phone at least once. They exchanged voice notes and numerous photos and video messages,” the lawsuit continues. “They texted several times. On Christmas Day 2025, Ms. Banks and Miss J exchanged holiday messages and he updated Ms. Banks on his improving health. She replied, “Yes, can we talk this week?” They never spoke. Just weeks later, the Netflix series was broadcast to a global audience.
The lawsuit claims the docuseries caused “significant harm” to Banks’ personal brand. The lawsuit alleges that online ratings for her ice cream business SMIZE & DREAM have “declined” since the documentary series aired.
In the lawsuit, Banks’ attorneys claim she will likely suffer economic damages including “loss of future employment opportunities, loss of business income, and other compounding losses as will be shown at trial.”
Banks require a jury trial to determine how much they should be awarded in damages.
Netflix has not yet responded Hollywood ReporterRequest for comment.
