Tyra Banks has sued Netflix for defamation over its docuseries ‘Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model’, with court papers filed on Saturday, 13 June 2026, accusing the streamer of building a false narrative through selective editing.
The docuseries premiered on the platform in February 2026 and prominently featured the former supermodel and host, as reported by TMZ.
Banks claims only 16 minutes of her roughly three-hour interview made the final cut, leaving her account stripped of its original meaning.
What Tyra Banks says in her Netflix lawsuit
In the filing, Banks alleges the clips were “stripped of context and reassembled to support a false and defamatory narrative unrelated to what she actually expressed.”
She argues the edit distorted her words rather than reflecting the substance of her lengthy interview.
The lawsuit accuses the producers of constructing a false narrative through “selective editing, deliberate omission, and surgical manipulation of continuous footage.”
Banks maintains that the edit served a storyline she never intended to support when she agreed to take part.
Banks points in particular to the inclusion of contestant Shandi Sullivan, who appears in the series describing an alleged sexual assault during filming.
Banks says she was not made aware of those accusations in advance and was never offered an opportunity to address them on camera.
Who Tyra Banks named in the Netflix suit
Alongside Netflix, the suit names production companies EverWonder Studio and Wise Child Studio, as well as directors Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan.
Banks is seeking a jury trial to determine damages for lost business opportunities, lost income and significant mental anguish she attributes to the series.
Banks has built ventures beyond modelling in the years since, from food businesses to producing, and has leaned on the goodwill attached to her name.
The lawsuit frames the docuseries as a threat to that reputation, arguing the portrayal could cost her future work and partnerships.
How the America’s Next Top Model docuseries sparked the row
America’s Next Top Model ran for 24 cycles after launching in 2003 and turned Banks into one of television’s most recognisable hosts.
In recent years, former contestants have revisited the show online, criticising moments they say were uncomfortable, insensitive or harmful during filming.
The docuseries leaned into that reassessment, revisiting old footage and contestant testimony about life behind the scenes.
Banks took part in a long interview for the project, but says the finished series used only a fraction of what she said and reshaped it into something she did not recognise.
With the papers now filed, the case heads towards a jury trial that Banks hopes will deliver damages and a public correction of the record.
Netflix has not publicly responded to the claims, and the streamer’s defence will shape how far the dispute travels through the courts.
