Tyra Banks fights Netflix bid to dismiss Reality Check lawsuit
Tyra Banks is fighting to keep her lawsuit against Netflix alive, with a court hearing set for 30 October in downtown Los Angeles.
Banks has filed an opposition to Netflix's anti-SLAPP motion, a legal bid to have a case about speech thrown out early, according to Deadline. The motion seeks dismissal of her defamation suit over the streamer's Reality Check docuseries. Banks is represented by lawyers from Clare Locke, while Netflix is represented by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
Banks filed the suit in June 2026. Netflix declined to comment at the time of that filing, Deadline reported.
Reality Check is a three-part docuseries directed by Daniel Sivan and Mor Loushy. Banks, the former host of America's Next Top Model, says the programme misrepresented her through editing.
In her latest filing, Banks alleges Netflix and the filmmakers altered her words and reactions through selective deletion, rearrangement and other editing techniques. The filing centres on two moments involving former Top Model contestant Shandi Sullivan.
Banks alleges Episode 1 kept the question about Sullivan's story and her reply of "Um" but cut out her nod and answer, "I do remember her story," before cutting to black. In a separate 2004 conversation, she alleges the series deleted Sullivan's question about cheating, reversed the order of what was said, and added commentary claiming Banks had raised cheating after hearing producers in her ear.
Banks is suing Netflix, 89 Blocks Holdings, EverWonder Studio, Netflix Music, Loushy and Sivan for false light and defamation by implication, meaning she claims she was portrayed in a false and misleading way, alongside breach of contract and false endorsement.
Netflix had asked the court to dismiss the complaint with prejudice, meaning the case would be closed for good and could not be refiled. In its motion to strike, Netflix's lawyers argued that Banks' dissatisfaction with the series does not amount to defamation, Variety reported.
Her original suit claimed producers used roughly 16 minutes from a three-and-a-half-hour interview to build a false narrative, according to The New York Times.
What happens next is procedural. The judge will hear Netflix's dismissal bid on 30 October. If the motion fails, the case moves forward. If it succeeds, Banks' claims are out unless she wins on appeal.
