Tyra Banks' Netflix Lawsuit Faces Tough Road, Former 'ANTM' Star Says

Caption: Tyra Banks arriving at a Digitas NewFront event in 2011. Credit: Digitas Photos, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Tyra Banks’ defamation lawsuit against Netflix faces a steep legal climb, according to a former “America’s Next Top Model” contestant who is now a practicing attorney and has reviewed the case.

What You Should Know

Banks sued Netflix, directors Daniel Sivan and Mor Loushy, and production company EverWonder Studio in a Los Angeles federal lawsuit, alleging the docuseries “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model” used selective editing to falsely suggest she knowingly allowed a contestant’s on-set sexual assault and could not recall it when asked, according to PBS NewsHour. Banks says only 16 minutes of a three-and-a-half-hour interview made it into the finished series.

The Public Image Problem

Kayla Ferrel Onder, who competed on two seasons of the show and now works as an attorney who has recovered more than $1 billion for sexual abuse survivors, told Entertainment Weekly the case will be “extremely challenging” for Banks to win. As a public figure, Banks must show “actual malice,” a higher legal bar than most defamation plaintiffs face. “She’s lawyered up from day one,” Ferrel Onder said, calling it ironic given the contracts contestants themselves signed during filming.

The Receipts

The lawsuit states Netflix edited the footage to make it appear Banks “knew she was being asked about a sexual assault and was intentionally trying to evade the topic,” according to ABC News’ review of the filing. Banks says the documentary’s release has already caused real-world harm, including review-bombing of her Sydney-based ice cream business, SMiZE & DREAM.

What Happens Next

Banks is seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages, while continuing her television career; she is set to appear on Season 22 of “Project Runway” on Freeform next month. The case’s outcome will turn heavily on whether Banks can clear the actual-malice standard Ferrel Onder flagged as the central obstacle.

References: PBS NewsHour | ABC News