Los Angeles: Tyra Banks has filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix, the directors of its docuseries 'Reality Check: Inside America's Top Next Model' and EverWonder Studio, alleging that her interview was selectively edited to create a false narrative.
According to the lawsuit filed on Saturday in a Los Angeles federal court, Banks was interviewed for three and a half hours, during which she took responsibility for some of the show's controversial decisions. However, the lawsuit alleges that the interview was edited down to 16 minutes and manipulated to portray her in a misleading light.
“The accountability Ms Banks took ended up on the cutting room floor. It was there, but viewers were never given the opportunity to see it,” her lawyers wrote.
The lawsuit contends that the producers of the Netflix docuseries used “selective editing, deliberate omission, and surgical manipulation of continuous footage” to formulate a narrative that Banks allowed a contestant to be sexually assaulted on the show, exploited the contestant's trauma for ratings and then claimed not to remember the incident during the interviews. Banks' argues that she was never asked about the assault during the interview.
According to the lawsuit, she had not been contacted for fact-checking after her interviews, and was not given an opportunity to respond to accusations from other participants. Banks' legal team claims that one her lawyers who holds a personal grudge against her was consulted on the docuseries.
Banks' lawyers reached out to Netflix in March to request access to the full footage of her interviews. Netflix and EverWonder denied that request, according to the lawsuit.
Banks is seeking damages in her lawsuit against Netflix and is also seeking an injunction barring the use of her image in connection with the docuseries' soundtrack, released as an album.
The lawsuit also states that she has faced widespread public criticism and that her ice-cream shop in Sydney, Australia has been subject to negative reviews online.
“America's Next Top Model” launched in 2003 and ran for 24 seasons. In recent years, the reality competition series has undergone a critical re-evaluation over accusations of body shaming, manipulation of contestants and problematic photoshoots. Banks has previously addressed those criticisms, acknowledging “the insensitivity of past 'ANTM' moments” and “some really off choices.”
Netflix, directors Daniel Sivan and Mor Loushy, and EverWonder Studio has not responded to the accusations at the time of filing. Banks' lawyers had previously reached out to Netflix requesting access to the interviews but both Netflix and the studio denied request.
(with inputs from AP via PTI)
