Tyra Banks has launched legal action against Netflix, accusing the streaming platform of misrepresenting her in a documentary examining the legacy of America’s Next Top Model.
The lawsuit centres on Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, a documentary series that revisited the hugely popular reality competition show and featured interviews with Banks, former judges and contestants.
According to court documents, Banks alleges that producers manipulated her contributions and presented them in a way that created a misleading and damaging portrayal of her.
The supermodel is seeking damages and has requested a jury trial, claiming the documentary used “manufactured drama and constructed narratives” that unfairly painted her in a negative light.
Banks argues that comments she made during filming were taken out of context and edited to support a storyline that did not accurately reflect her views.
The lawsuit reportedly states that her interview was “stripped of context and reassembled to support a false and defamatory narrative unrelated to what she actually expressed.”
Banks agreed to participate in the documentary because she wanted to openly discuss both the successes and criticisms of America’s Next Top Model, which ran from 2003 to 2018 and became one of the most successful reality television franchises of its era.
“There are aspects of the show for which Ms. Banks takes accountability, and she wanted ANTM viewers to hear that from her directly,” the lawsuit states.
Over the years, America’s Next Top Model has faced criticism from former contestants and viewers who questioned some of the show’s practices and behind-the-scenes culture. The Netflix series revisited many of those controversies, with several former participants sharing difficult experiences from their time on the programme.
The legal dispute has also prompted reactions from former cast members.
Adrienne Curry, the winner of the show’s first season, mocked the lawsuit in a video shared on Instagram.
“I read that Tyra Banks is suing Netflix because she didn’t like being edited,” Curry said before laughing. “Welcome to the party, pal.”
Banks is asking the court to determine what she describes as appropriate financial compensation for the alleged damage caused by the documentary.
Neither Netflix nor representatives for the documentary producers have publicly responded to the lawsuit.
The case marks the latest chapter in the ongoing debate surrounding America’s Next Top Model, a show that helped launch modelling careers and became a cultural phenomenon, but has increasingly faced scrutiny in recent years as former contestants and viewers reassess its legacy.
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