Two months after ‘America’s Next Top Model’ creator and host Tyra Banks filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix, the streaming platform has responded and asked for Tyra’s lawsuit to be thrown out. The streaming service let Tyra have it in its legal response to her court filing, essentially stating that Tyra is mad because she didn’t appear as much as she wanted on the show. It also claimed that Tyra is upset that the docuseries’ producers used editing tactics that Tyra herself used during the run of ‘America’s Top Model.’
As The Ashley previously reported, Tyra sued Netflix in June for allegedly defaming her and misrepresenting her narrative on the three-part docuseries “Reality Check: America’s Next Top Model.” The docuseries took a deep dive into the complicated history and questionable moments across the show’s 24-cycle run. Tyra appeared in the series– which was released on Netflix in February– and received heavy backlash when fans felt she was deflecting and not taking accountability for her controversial actions.
In the lawsuit, Tyra accuses Netflix of purposely editing her interview to portray an alternative narrative against her and alleged that producers were purposefully “deceptive.”
Now, Netflix is claiming there is no basis for the lawsuit at all. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the streaming service also called out Tyra for now fighting against editing tactics it says she herself employed while producing ‘ANTM.’
“[Tyra] understands editorial discretion,” Netflix wrote in its motion to dismiss. “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 [Tyra]. Her disagreement with the resulting portrayal does not make it defamatory.”
Along with a motion to dismiss Tyra’s lawsuit, Netflix— alongside EverWonder Studio— filed an anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) motion. (An anti-SLAPP motion is filed by the defendant of a lawsuit to quickly dismiss a defamation case when it’s believed to be meritless and filed to silence free speech.)
Now, Netflix must prove that the subject of Tyra’s lawsuit– the docuseries– is protected by free speech or public participation laws in order for the anti-SLAPP motion to continue.
“Directors Daniel Sivan and Mor Loushy are respected documentarians who thoroughly interviewed the people behind ‘America’s Next Top Model,'” reps for Netflix said in a statement to ABC News. “Tyra Banks was given the opportunity to speak openly about her experience and the creators fairly presented her perspective alongside those of every other participant shown in this documentary.
“We stand behind ‘Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model’ and will continue to vigorously defend it.”
In the court documents, Netflix argues that Tyra filed her lawsuit because she disagreed with the amount of her interview that was included in the series. She also disagreed with how producers chose to edit the series, which does not constitute defamation. Netflix stated that if this lawsuit goes forward, the floodgates will open for all documentary participants to sue if they don’t agree with the artistic choices of production.
“Defamation law does not permit that result, and courts do not second-guess editorial judgments merely because an interview subject would have preferred different ones,” the filing reads.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tyra claims that she was interviewed for hours for the docuseries, but only 16 minutes of that interview were used. Netflix confirmed this in its response to Tyra’s lawsuit. However, the streaming service also confirmed that Tyra signed an agreement that acknowledged her interview would be edited however the producers saw fit.
“After the interview, [Tyra] signed an agreement granting the filmmakers the right to edit her interview footage, acknowledging she had ‘no right to review or approve’ the finished documentary, and releasing claims arising from it — including for defamation and false light.”
Netflix states that Tyra is now claiming defamation because “she wanted advance notice of what another interviewee would say, more of her interview included, and her perspective presented differently.”
Netflix also alleges that there is no implication that producers nor the streaming platform intended to convey the narrative that Tyra claims they did. (Tyra claims that Netflix included clips that were “stripped of context and reassembled to support a false and defamatory narrative unrelated to what she actually expressed.”)
If the lawsuit continues, Tyra is vying for damages and “loss of future business opportunities, loss of business income, other compounding losses as will be shown at trial.” She is also seeking compensation for being involved with the series after experiencing “significant mental anguish.”
“[Tyra] did share her side. Her answers were very honest,” Tyra claimed in her lawsuit. “But the story that viewers heard was the deceptive story producers chose to tell. …Tyra Banks participated in the Netflix documentary series [on] ‘America’s Next Top Model’ (‘ANTM’) because she believed viewers deserved a candid conversation about the show’s legacy– its successes and its shortcomings. There are aspects of the show for which Ms. Banks takes accountability, and she wanted ‘ANTM’ viewers to hear that from her directly.”
To name a few questionable moments:
- Tyra refused to discuss her fallout with former costar and best friend Jay Manuel.
- Costar Miss J Alexander revealed that after his stroke that paralyzed him in 2022, Tyra didn’t come visit him in the hospital and claimed that she was one of the last people to reach out to him.
- Tyra claimed the infamous “I Was Rooting For You” blowup with model Tiffany Richardson was very “tough” for her. Tyra did not mention that there was much more to the argument than was aired– some of which Miss J said were “not well-intentioned” – and she did not say that she was sorry for the incident.
As of press time, the lawsuit is still pending.
RELATED STORY: Tyra Banks Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Netflix After Backlash Over “America’s Next Top Model” Docuseries
(Photos: Netflix; UPN)
