Tyra Banks’ latest filing in her defamation suit over Netflix’s “Reality Check” compares documentary clips with original footage, arguing that edits misrepresented her. The examples concern her response to a contestant’s assault story and a conversation about cheating.
The filing says one edit removed Banks’ nod and cut her answer when asked whether she remembered contestant Shandi Sullivan’s account of an alleged sexual assault, making her appear unable to recall it. A second comparison concerns a 2004 cheating conversation: Banks says the original clip shows Sullivan raised the topic, but the documentary deleted her question and reordered the exchange. Banks also says she did not know Sullivan had classified the incident as sexual assault.
In August, Netflix moved to dismiss Banks’ suit, and Netflix and EverWonder Studio also filed an anti-SLAPP motion, a legal mechanism aimed at dismissing lawsuits without merit. Netflix said Banks had the opportunity to speak openly, the filmmakers fairly presented her perspective alongside other participants, and it would vigorously defend the series. Banks’ suit alleges that only 16 minutes of her lengthy interview were used.
