Tyra Banks sues Netflix, claims ‘Next Top Model’ doc created false narrative

Tyra Banks is suing Netflix over her participation in its docuseries about “America’s Next Top Model,” alleging the creators misled her about the nature of the project and made defamatory claims about her through the editing.

Netflix dropped three episodes of “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model” in February, delving into the modeling reality competition series Banks created in 2003 and highlighting allegations former contestants have since made against production, citing instances of alleged racism, exploitation, body shaming and sexual assault.

According to a legal complaint obtained by USA TODAY, the show’s former host said the documentary was edited to support a false narrative and is asking for a jury to determine how much she should be paid in damages.

In the lawsuit, Banks said she participated in a 3.5-hour interview after being told the project was aiming to discuss the long-running reality show’s legacy, including its successes and shortcomings. She said only 16 minutes of that interview were used by the docuseries creators, alleging her comments taking accountability for her actions were removed.

Through “selective editing, deliberate omission and surgical manipulation of continuous footage,” the lawsuit says directors Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan allegedly created a false narrative that Banks knowingly allowed a contestant to be sexually assaulted on the show and exploited the contestant’s trauma for ratings.

“That narrative about Ms. Banks is a complete fabrication — one that Netflix streamed to a global audience of millions,” the complaint reads. “The story that viewers heard was the deceptive story producers chose to tell.”

USA TODAY has reached out to Netflix for comment.

Lawsuit says editing manufactured false response to question about contestant Shandi Sullivan

Among the many accusations made in the docuseries, Season 2 contestant Shandi Sullivan accused the production of allowing her to be sexually assaulted while intoxicated and on camera.

Sullivan alleges that during a trip to Milan, a group of men who drove the models on Vespas invited them back to their accommodations for dinner and drinks, and one of them assaulted her in front of production staff, who she said should have helped her. She says part of that event was filmed, partially shown on TV and edited to appear as if she cheated on her boyfriend back home.

In the docuseries, Loushy asks Banks, “You remember the story with Shandi?” and Banks responds, “um,” before the screen cuts to black. The lawsuit says the implication that Banks could not remember the assault on her show is “devastating and deliberate.”

“But that was false,” the lawsuit states. “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.'”

The lawsuit continued: “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.”

Premiering in 2003, “America’s Next Top Model” followed a batch of aspiring professional models competing in a cutthroat competition while being mentored and judged by Banks.

The show ran for 24 seasons before concluding in 2018. At its commercial height, the series amassed over 100 million viewers globally, according to Netflix. Banks briefly departed the series for its penultimate 2016-2017 season, when British pop singer Rita Ora hosted.

Contributing: Edward Seggara, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tyra Banks says Netflix’s ‘Next Top Model’ doc misled her in lawsuit