Tyra Banks filed a defamation lawsuit Saturday against Netflix, alleging the streaming giant manipulated her interview footage in its three-part docuseries “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model” to construct a false and damaging narrative about her conduct as the show’s creator and longtime host.

The suit, filed Saturday, claims producers used just 16 minutes of a three-and-a-half-hour interview Ms. Banks gave, stripping her words of context to portray her as a host who knowingly allowed a contestant to be sexually assaulted, exploited the victim’s trauma for ratings and was unable to recall the episode when questioned. According to court documents obtained by People, Ms. Banks is seeking a jury trial to determine damages for lost business opportunities, lost income and significant mental anguish.

“The false narrative the producers constructed — through selective editing, deliberate omission, and surgical manipulation of continuous footage — included that Ms. Banks knowingly allowed a contestant to be sexually assaulted on her show, exploited that contestant’s trauma for ratings, and then could not even remember it when asked,” the complaint states. “That narrative about Ms. Banks is a complete fabrication — one that Netflix streamed to a global audience of millions.”

The lawsuit names Netflix along with production companies EverWonder Studio and Wise Child Studio, as well as directors Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan. Netflix, EverWonder Studio, Wise Child Studio, Shandi Sullivan, Ms. Loushy and Mr. Sivan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The docuseries, which debuted globally Feb. 16 on Netflix, revisits controversies from “America’s Next Top Model,” which Ms. Banks created, executive-produced and hosted for the first 22 cycles beginning in 2003 on UPN, later returning as host for Cycle 24. The three-episode project features interviews with former contestants, judges and production figures examining the show’s legacy.

Central to the lawsuit is a segment involving cycle 2 contestant Shandi Sullivan, who described an incident in Italy during which she said she was blacked out when male models visited the house, and accused the original production team of framing her account as a cheating scandal rather than an assault. Ms. Banks contends she was never told that Ms. Sullivan had classified the incident as sexual assault or that she would appear in the docuseries at all.

The complaint alleges producers deliberately edited Ms. Banks’ response to the Shandi segment to make it appear she could not remember the contestant’s story.

“The full footage of Ms. Banks’ interview reveals two things that the producers cut out and did not show viewers in Episode 1: before the upward glance, Ms. Banks nods — affirmatively, unmistakably — and immediately says, ’I do remember her story,’” the lawsuit says, according to court documents obtained by People. “By carving the nod out of the middle of the sequence and cutting off Ms. Banks’ comment at the end, the producers ensured that viewers would see only the lie and not the truth.”

The suit also takes issue with how the documentary handled the subject of Miss J. Alexander, the longtime “ANTM” runway coach who disclosed in the docuseries that Ms. Banks had not visited him following his 2022 stroke, saying only that she had sent a text asking to come by. Ms. Banks contends she was living in Australia at the time and was never given an opportunity to present text chains documenting repeated attempts to reach Miss J., or a subsequent message from a family member apologizing for the delayed response. According to court documents obtained by People, Ms. Banks and Miss J. exchanged voice notes, photos, video messages and holiday greetings as recently as Christmas Day 2025.

“Had the producers informed Ms. Banks that part of the Netflix Series narrative would include Miss J saying that Ms. Banks never visited him in the hospital, Ms. Banks would have explained that she had been living in Australia for 2½ years,” the lawsuit states.

Ms. Banks also addresses depictions of her response to a separate incident in which a crew member reported that a regular cast member had engaged in a pattern of inappropriate sexual conduct on set. The complaint asserts Ms. Banks immediately escalated the matter to network executives and paused production so the full cast and crew could undergo sexual harassment training led by an outside expert — context the lawsuit alleges was omitted from the final cut.

The suit challenges statements by Ms. Loushy, one of the series’ directors and executive producers, who said publicly that Ms. Banks “was ready to speak” and that her answers were “all in the show.” Ms. Banks does not dispute that she spoke candidly in her interview; she argues the finished product bore no resemblance to what she actually said.

“Reality Check” director Kay Wicker separately told TheGrio the documentary would have proceeded with or without Ms. Banks’ participation.

In the months since the docuseries premiered, former contestants and judges have offered a range of assessments of both the show and Ms. Banks. Cycle 8 winner Jaslene Gonzalez told People she remains a fan of the show and credited it with transforming her life. Kelly Cutrone, a panelist on cycles 18 through 22 who did not participate in the Netflix project, told People she believed Ms. Banks would ultimately prevail.