Netflix Moves to Dismiss Tyra Banks' ANTM Suit
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- Netflix filed a motion Friday to dismiss Tyra Banks' June defamation suit over the 'Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model' docuseries, arguing the claims target standard editorial choices, not falsehoods.
- Banks sued Netflix and directors Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan, alleging the series deceptively cut a three-hour interview — using only about 16 minutes — to falsely portray her as insensitive to contestant Shandi Sullivan, who says she was sexually assaulted during ANTM's second season in Milan.
- Netflix's lawyers argued Banks 'understands editorial discretion' because she created, hosted, and executive produced all 24 seasons of ANTM, making the same kinds of editing decisions she now attacks.
- The documentary shows Banks saying 'um' and looking at the ceiling when asked if she remembers Sullivan, ending episode one on a cliffhanger; she argues her full answer, 'I do remember her story,' should not have been omitted.
- Netflix's filing countered that her complete answer aired at the start of episode two, and noted Banks signed a standard waiver giving up creative control over the project.
- Netflix issued a statement standing by directors Sivan and Loushy, saying Banks was given the opportunity to speak openly about her experience.
- The three-episode docuseries, released in February, was part of a broader reappraisal of ANTM, which ran 24 seasons from 2003 to 2018.
Why it matters: For Banks, the suit tests whether a documentary subject's frustration with editing can qualify as defamation. For Netflix, the filing notably weaponizes Banks' own 24-season ANTM producer track record against her — a framing that could shape how the court weighs editorial discretion in unscripted projects going forward.
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