Tyra Banks has filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix over its documentary about her long-running reality franchise, accusing the streamer of editing her own interview to construct a false narrative. The suit was filed on Saturday, 14 June 2026.
According to the complaint, Banks sat for a three-and-a-half-hour interview that producers cut to roughly 16 minutes — footage she says was “manipulated to support a false and defamatory narrative.” At the center of the claim is a sequence in the series Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model in which Banks glances upward, says “um,” and the screen cuts to black, implying she could not recall the story of a contestant who was assaulted. Her lawyers say the unedited footage shows her nodding and saying, “I do remember her story.”
Banks is suing Netflix along with 89 Blocks Holdings, EverWonder Studio, Netflix Music and co-directors Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan — for false light, defamation by implication, breach of contract and false endorsement.
Tyra Banks created and hosted America’s Next Top Model from 2003 to 2018, one of the most influential reality franchises in fashion, and remains among the most-searched names in the industry.
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Lead image: Tyra Banks (2018) by Juice Group, CC BY 3.0.