Television personality and former America’s Next Top Model host Tyra Banks has reportedly filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix over a documentary examining the legacy of the long-running reality series.
The documentary Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model premiered in February and revisited several controversial moments from the franchise, featuring interviews with Banks, 52, alongside former contestants and others connected to the show.
America’s Next Top Model launched in 2003 and was created by Banks, who hosted much of its run before it ended in 2018. While the series achieved major success and helped launch modelling careers, it also drew criticism over time for its production choices, treatment of contestants and provocative photo shoots.
The documentary has reignited debate about the show, prompting renewed scrutiny of events from its broadcast history.
TMZ reported that Banks has now filed suit claiming the programme misrepresented her through selective editing. The filing alleges that producers used a small portion of a more than three-hour interview, resulting in what she describes as a misleading portrayal.
The lawsuit further argues that “selective editing, deliberate omission, and surgical manipulation” were used to construct a narrative that damaged her reputation. It cites one example in which Banks says viewers were left with the impression she knowingly allowed a contestant to be sexually assaulted during filming.
The issue centres on former contestant Shandi Sullivan, who appeared on Cycle 2 of the show. The documentary revisited an incident that occurred during filming in Italy, including Sullivan’s claims that she was not adequately protected by the production.
Banks contends the programme unfairly suggested she exploited the incident for ratings and later failed to properly acknowledge its seriousness in her interview.
The suit also states Banks was not informed Sullivan would be featured in the documentary and says she has recognised the incident as a sexual assault, contrary to claims the show originally framed it as infidelity.
In the documentary, Sullivan recalled the incident, saying: “All I remember is just like, him on top of me. I was blacked out. No one did anything to stop it, and it all got filmed, all of it.”
“I was hammered; I think I had two bottles of wine by myself. I was blacked out for a lot of it. I didn’t even feel sex happening. I just knew it was happening and then I passed out.”
Asked whether production should have intervened, she said: “I think after getting out of the hot tub and whatever happened after that, they should have been like ‘Alright this has gone too far, we’ve got to pull her out of this’.”
Addressing the matter in the documentary, Banks said: “It’s a little difficult for me to talk about production, as that’s not my territory.”