Tyra Banks has filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix, accusing the streaming platform of misleadingly editing her interview for a documentary examining controversies surrounding the reality television series America's Next Top Model, according to media reports.
According to the lawsuit, Banks claims her comments in the three-part documentary Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model were “stripped of context and reassembled” to support a “false and defamatory narrative,” NBC News reported on Saturday.
The suit alleges Netflix used “selective editing, deliberate omission, and surgical manipulation” to suggest Banks knowingly allowed a contestant to be sexually assaulted during filming and later failed to remember the incident.
“That narrative about Ms. Banks is a complete fabrication,” the lawsuit states.
Banks said she agreed to participate because she believed audiences deserved a candid discussion about the show's legacy, including both its achievements and shortcomings.
The lawsuit notes that only 16 minutes of a three-and-a-half-hour interview were included in the documentary.
According to the filing, producers edited Banks' responses to make it appear she was reacting to allegations made by former contestant Shandi Sullivan, who claimed in the documentary that she was assaulted during the production of the show's second season.
“Ms. Banks respects Ms. Sullivan’s perspective and the courage it takes for Ms. Sullivan and others to speak up,” the suit states.
Netflix declined to comment, according to NBC News.
Banks is seeking damages for alleged losses, including future business opportunities and harm to her personal brand. The lawsuit does not specify a monetary amount.
The former television host also claims online ratings for her Sydney-based ice cream business, SMiZE & DREAM, have declined since the documentary aired.
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