Tyra Banks Sues Netflix For Defamation, All About The Lawsuit Amid ‘False Narrative’ Allegations

Tyra Banks is suing Netflix! Yes, in a shocking turn of events, the star has filed a lawsuit against the OTT giant, claiming she was manipulated into participating in Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model documentary. Amid that, let’s take a quick look at what the charges against Netflix are.

Tyra Banks gets candid about her intent behind participation in the ANTM documentary

A lawsuit was filed against Netflix on Saturday, June 13, 2026 (ET), according to PEOPLE. The reports revealed that “Tyra Banks participated in the Netflix documentary series’ America’s Next Top Model’ (‘ANTM’) because she believed viewers deserved a candid conversation about the show’s legacy: its successes and its shortcomings.” The report claimed that there were aspects of the show for which Tyra took “accountability and she wanted ANTM viewers to hear that from her directly.” However, these parts were edited and produced without context.

Tyra Banks alleged that selective editing was done by the makers on her part in the documentary

The lawsuit further revealed that when Tyra Banks sat for the interview, she did not limit “the ANTM topics the interviewer could ask.” The lawsuit stated that “during a three-and-a-half-hour interview, Ms Banks answered questions about the show’s groundbreaking history, including criticism of decisions she would approach differently today.” However, out of that, only 16 minutes of her talk with producers were used in the final product, and the clips that were used were “stripped of context and reassembled to support a false and defamatory narrative unrelated to what she actually expressed.”

Tyra Banks claims that documentary framing had set a different expectation among the viewers

In the lawsuit, it was further alleged that the Netflix project was sold to viewers as a documentary, which meant they expected factual accuracy. However, the editing and snipping of her parts significantly affected how the audience viewed the documentary and responded to the content.

Trya Banks has taken issue with the edited version of her comment on the Shandi Sullivan incident in the documentary

While Tyra took accountability for many controversies on America’s Next Top Model, some of her comments were omitted from the edit. The former model took issue with some of the topics that featured in the documentary, including the testimony of Shandi Sullivan. The series features Shandi claiming she was sexually assaulted by a male model during the Cycle 2 contestants’ stay in Italy.

Video from the season showed Sullivan drinking wine and partying with the girls and some other male models before climbing into bed with one of them. While the model told the viewers she blacked out when the interaction took place, the reality program framed it as a cheating scandal rather than an alleged assault. During the documentary, Tyra, when asked about the incident, claimed she had no involvement in the production and editing of storylines.

The clip shows Tyra Banks in a confessional admitting to knowing about the alleged assault, but she claims she was not involved in production or the editing of storylines. The lawsuit takes issue with the same and stated:

“Worse, the false narrative the producers constructed—through selective editing, deliberate omission, and surgical manipulation of continuous footage—included that Ms Banks knowingly allowed a contestant to be sexually assaulted on her show, exploited that contestant’s trauma for ratings, and then could not even remember it when asked. That narrative about Ms Banks is a complete fabrication—one that Netflix streamed to a global audience of millions.”

The lawsuit further takes issue with claims that Tyra shut down production during one cycle after a crew member reported that a regular ANTM cast member engaged in inappropriate conduct. The lawsuit claimed that the response was not hypothetical and based on something Tyra actually did when she found out a cast member had “engaged in a pattern of inappropriate sexual conduct during production of ANTM”. The lawsuit stated:

“Ms Banks immediately shared the report with other executives and ensured the issue was escalated to the network. Ms Banks acted promptly and gave the matter the serious attention it deserved. In response, production was paused so the entire cast and crew could undergo sexual harassment training conducted by an outside expert.”

What does Tyra Banks want from the lawsuit?

The case has drawn immense attention within hours of the reports’ publication. Amid that, Tyra Banks is requesting a jury trial to determine the “appropriate” amount of damages she should receive. 

image credit: TyraBanks/IG

What are your thoughts on Tyra Banks’ lawsuit against Netflix?

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