Tyra Banks is calling for Netflix to release her “complete, unedited interview” from the ‘America’s Next Top Model’ docuseries released in February, as she claims that facts are “being hidden” by the streaming platform. 

In an emailed statement to The Ashley from Tyra’s reps, the former ‘ANTM’ host’s lawyer refuted Netflix’s recent claims in their response to Tyra’s lawsuit. Tyra’s legal team also insisted that the host/model didn’t file the lawsuit because she wanted “creative control” of the docuseries, as Netflix suggested.

As The Ashley previously reported, the ‘ANTM’ creator filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix in June in response to the way she was portrayed in the three-part docuseries, ‘Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model.’ In her lawsuit, Tyra accused Netflix of purposely editing her interview in order to portray an alternative narrative against her, while also alleging that producers were purposely “deceptive.” 

Just last week, Netflix filed a response to Tyra’s lawsuit, in which it argued there is no basis for the suit at all. The streaming platform– alongside EverWonder Studio– also 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.)  

In the statement emailed to The Ashley’s, Tyra’s team states that Tyra was aware that the docuseries would, of course, be edited. However, she feels that the edits actually changed what she said.

“Tyra Banks’ lawsuit raises a simple question: can viewers trust that a documentary presented as fact fairly represents what happened and what people actually said?” Tom Clare of Clare Locke LLP wrote. “Netflix’s response only underscores the issue.” 

While Tyra’s lawyer noted that no one– including Tyra– “disputes that documentaries are edited,” he claims that Tyra’s lawsuit is based on “whether those edits materially distorted the truth.” He went on to insist that the lawsuit is “not about Tyra being ‘dissatisfied’” with the edits made to the docuseries, nor is it about Tyra “wanting creative control.”

Instead, he said, “it is about whether viewers were given an accurate representation of her words and the facts.” 

Tyra’s lawyer concluded his statement by encouraging Netflix to release Tyra’s “complete, unedited interview” so that viewers can compare the footage to what was shown in the docuseries. 

“If Netflix stands behind the accuracy of its documentary, it should release that interview in full and let viewers judge for themselves,” he wrote. “Let the public compare what Tyra actually said with what Netflix chose to show. The facts are the facts and, here, the facts are recorded and being hidden by Netflix.” 

As The Ashley told you last week, in its response to Tyra’s lawsuit, Netflix accused Tyra of fighting against editing tactics it claims she herself employed while producing ‘ANTM.’ Netflix went on to insist that Tyra “understands editorial discretion.” 

“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,” Netflix wrote in its motion to dismiss. “The Documentary simply turned that editorial lens back on ‘ANTM’ and [Tyra]. Her disagreement with the resulting portrayal does not make it defamatory.” 

While Tyra claims that only 16 minutes of her hours-long interview was used in the ‘Reality Check’ docuseries, Netflix has confirmed that Tyra signed an agreement acknowledging that her interview would be edited however producers saw fit. 

At this time, the lawsuit remains pending. 

RELATED STORY: Netflix Reads Tyra Banks to Filth in Response to Her Lawsuit Over ‘ANTM’ Docuseries; Asks Court to Dismiss Case 

(Photos: Netflix; Instagram)