Tyra Banks is taking Netflix to court over what her lawyers call a fabricated portrayal — built not from lies, but from her own words, cut and rearranged.
Details
• Banks sued Netflix, the production companies and co-directors Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan on Saturday. The claims include defamation, false light, breach of contract and false endorsement.
• The central allegation involves cycle two contestant Shandi Sullivan, who described a past sexual encounter as an assault in the documentary — something Banks says she had never heard before and was not told during her interview.
• Her lawyers say Loushy then asked Banks on camera whether she remembered “the story with Shandi.” The edit shows Banks glancing upward, saying “um,” then cuts to black. The implication, the suit argues, was deliberate: that Banks couldn’t remember an assault that happened on her own show.
• The unedited footage, according to the lawsuit, shows Banks nodding and saying clearly: “I do remember her story.”
• Netflix has not responded to requests for comment.
What to watch
Banks is requesting a jury trial to determine punitive damages. How courts define the line between editorial discretion and defamation by implication could set a precedent that reshapes how documentary makers handle subject interviews.
