Model and television personality Tyra Banks has filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix and the directors of its docuseries ‘Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model’. The lawsuit alleges that the producers of the documentary manipulated interview footage to construct a false narrative about Banks’ role in the show.

Background of the Lawsuit

Banks claims that she was interviewed for 3 ½ hours, during which she took responsibility for some of the show’s controversial decisions. However, the interviews were edited down to 16 minutes and manipulated to support a false and defamatory narrative unrelated to what she actually expressed. The lawsuit states that the producers used ‘selective editing, deliberate omission, and surgical manipulation of continuous footage’ to formulate a narrative that Banks allowed a contestant to be sexually assaulted on the show and used the contestant’s trauma to drum up ratings.

Banks’ lawyers argue that she was not permitted to review the docuseries until a day before its release and was not given an opportunity to respond to accusations from other participants. The lawsuit also claims that other judges from the show, including one who holds a grudge against Banks, consulted on the docuseries and helped shape its editorial direction.

The lawsuit seeks damages and an injunction barring the use of Banks’ image in connection with the docuseries’ soundtrack. Banks’ lawyers reached out to Netflix in March to request access to the full footage of her interviews, but the request was denied.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.