‘America’s Next Top Model’ doc: Assault, racism and other accusations
Netflix’s “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model” is taking a serious swipe at the long-running show formerly hosted by Tyra Banks.
Tyra Banks is suing Netflix over her participation in the documentary series “America’s Next Top Model,” alleging that the creators misled her about the nature of the project and made defamatory statements.I will talk about her through editing.
In February, Netflix released three episodes of “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model,” which delved into the modeling reality competition series that Banks created in 2003, highlighting allegations that former contestants have since made against the production, citing examples of racism, exploitation, body shaming, and alleged sexual assault.
The show’s former host says the documentary was edited to support a false narrative and is asking a jury to determine the amount of damages, according to a legal complaint obtained by USA TODAY.
In the lawsuit, Banks said she participated in a three-and-a-half-hour interview after being told the project was aimed at discussing the long-running reality show’s legacy, including its successes and shortcomings. She said only 16 minutes of that interview was used by the documentary makers, and claimed that comments indicating responsibility for her actions were removed.
Directors Mo Rousey and Daniel Sivan are accused of using “selective editing, deliberate omissions, and surgical manipulation of continuous footage” to create a false narrative that Banks knowingly authorized the sexual assault of a cast member on the show and exploited the cast’s trauma for ratings purposes, according to the complaint.
“That story about Ms. Banks is a complete fabrication and was streamed by Netflix to millions of viewers around the world,” the complaint says. “The story viewers heard was a deceptive one that the producers chose to tell.”
USA TODAY has reached out to Netflix for comment.
Lawsuit claims editors fabricated false answers to questions about contestant Shandi Sullivan
Among the many accusations made in the docuseries, Season 2 contestant Shandi Sullivan accused the producers of allowing her to be sexually assaulted on camera while drunk.
Sullivan alleges that during a trip to Milan, a group of men driving the models in a Vespa invited them to their accommodation for dinner and drinks, and one of them assaulted her in front of production staff. According to her, parts of the incident were filmed, partially aired on television, and edited to make it appear as if she was cheating on her boyfriend back home.
In the documentary series, Rousey asks Banks, “Do you remember the story with Shandy?” Banks then responded, “Um,” before the screen went black. The suit says the implications of Banks’ failure to remember the assault on her show are “devastating and intentional.”
“However, that was false,” the complaint states. “The full footage of Ms. Banks’ interview reveals two things that producers cut out and didn’t show viewers in episode one: Ms. Banks looks up, nods — affirmatively, no doubt — and immediately says, ‘I remember what she said.'”
“By cutting out nods in the middle of the sequence and Ms. Banks’ comments at the end, the producers ensured that viewers saw lies instead of the truth,” the lawsuit continues.
First released in 2003, “America’s Next Top Model” followed aspiring professional models as they competed in fierce competition while being mentored and judged by Banks.
The show ran for 24 seasons until ending in 2018. At its commercial peak, the series attracted more than 100 million viewers worldwide, according to Netflix. Banks briefly left the series for the penultimate 2016-2017 season, which was hosted by British pop singer Rita Ora.
Contributor: Edward Seggara, USA TODAY
