Netflix asks court to dismiss Tyra Banks defamation suit over ANTM documentary

Netflix has asked a court to dismiss Tyra Banks’ defamation lawsuit over the documentary series Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, arguing that the former America’s Next Top Model host is challenging editorial decisions rather than identifying defamatory statements.

Banks filed the lawsuit in June against Netflix and directors Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan. She alleges that the documentary falsely portrayed her as insensitive towards Shandi Sullivan, a contestant who said she was sexually assaulted during the second season of America’s Next Top Model.

Banks participated in a three-hour interview for the three-part documentary, but approximately 16 minutes of the interview were ultimately used.

In its Friday motion, Netflix argued that Banks’ complaints concern the type of editorial decisions she made throughout her time on America’s Next Top Model, which ran for 24 seasons between 2003 and 2018.

“Banks understands editorial discretion,” the filing states. “She created, hosted, and executive produced 24 seasons of ANTM, making the same kinds of editorial decisions she now attacks — what footage to include, what to omit, and how to present competing narratives. The Documentary simply turned that editorial lens back on ANTM and Banks. Her disagreement with the resulting portrayal does not make it defamatory.”

Banks has argued that her interview was deceptively edited. In the documentary, she is asked whether she remembers Sullivan and responds with “um” while looking towards the ceiling before the episode cuts to a cliffhanger.

According to Banks, her full response would have demonstrated that she remembered Sullivan’s story. Netflix’s lawyers countered that the response, “I do remember her story”, appears at the beginning of the second episode.

“A documentary expressly showing Banks remembering does not imply that she forgot,” the filing states.

Netflix also pointed to a standard waiver signed by Banks that gave the production no creative control obligations towards her.

The company said it stands behind the documentary and its directors, adding that Banks was given an opportunity to speak openly and that her perspective was presented alongside other participants.