Reports: Tyra Banks Sues Netflix Over Documentary About Casting Show

As reported by the "New York Times," the celebrity news site "People," and the industry publications "Deadline" and "Entertainment Weekly," among others, citing court documents, the 52-year-old is accusing the company of defamation. Banks was a producer, judge, and host of the show.

As the media further quoted from the documents, Banks is said to have given a three-and-a-half-hour interview for the documentary, of which only 16 minutes were used. Her statements were then “taken out of context and reassembled” “to support a false and defamatory narrative that has nothing to do with what she actually said.”

Banks is seeking damages

More specifically, Banks accuses the producers of editing the interview for the documentary “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model” in such a way as to give the impression that Banks had allowed a sexual assault on a contestant to take place on her show. She allegedly used the woman’s trauma to boost her ratings and then claimed not to remember it when asked about it later, the report continued.

According to “People” and “Deadline,” Banks demanded a jury trial and damages for the emotional distress inflicted upon her. According to “The New York Times” and “Deadline,” Netflix did not initially comment on the matter.