Netflix is pushing back against a lawsuit filed by Tyra Banks over the streaming service’s recent docuseries examining the legacy of “America’s Next Top Model.”
In a statement sent to ABC News, a Netflix spokesperson said the company stands behind “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model” and plans to “vigorously defend” the series.
“Directors Daniel Sivan and Mor Loushy are respected documentarians who thoroughly interviewed the people behind America’s Next Top Model,” the spokesperson said. “Tyra Banks was given the opportunity to speak openly about her experience and the creators fairly presented her perspective alongside those of every other participant shown in this documentary. We stand behind ‘Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model’ and will continue to vigorously defend it.”
Netflix and EverWonder Studio have also filed an anti-SLAPP motion and a motion to dismiss Banks’ lawsuit, according to court documents provided to ABC News by a Netflix representative.
Representatives for Banks did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
In the motion from Netflix, the defendants argue that Banks’ “disagreement” with how she was portrayed in the documentary does not make the series defamatory.
The motion argues that Banks’ claims ultimately amount to dissatisfaction with the amount of her interview that was included and how it was edited. The defendants contend that allowing a defamation case to proceed on that basis could open the door for documentary subjects who are unhappy with their portrayal to challenge filmmakers’ editorial decisions.
“Defamation law does not permit that result, and courts do not second-guess editorial judgments merely because an interview subject would have preferred different ones,” the filing states.
The defendants also argue that Banks cannot show a probability of prevailing on her state law claims. According to the motion, the documentary does not reasonably convey the defamatory implications Banks alleges or suggest that the filmmakers intended to convey them.
The filings come after Banks sued Netflix in federal court in California in June, alleging the docuseries misrepresented her through selective editing and created a false and defamatory portrayal of her role on the long-running reality competition series. Banks is seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages, according to the complaint obtained by ABC News.
Banks alleged she agreed to participate in the documentary believing it would offer an honest examination of both the successes and controversies surrounding “America’s Next Top Model.”
The supermodel and reality TV host also alleged she was not given an “opportunity to respond to the accusations they were building into the Netflix Series — accusations they had gathered from other participants before Ms. Banks ever sat down, and which they deliberately withheld from her during the interview.”
Banks’ attorney, Tom Clare of Clare Locke, provided a statement to ABC News on Saturday disputing the company’s characterization of the lawsuit. Clare said the case is not about Banks being dissatisfied with the documentary’s editing or seeking creative control, but rather whether the editing “materially distorted the truth.”
He also called on Netflix to release Banks’ complete, unedited interview so viewers can compare it with what appeared in the docuseries.
“The facts are the facts and, here, the facts are recorded and being hidden by Netflix,” Clare said.
Banks created and hosted “America’s Next Top Model,” which premiered in 2003 and ran for 24 seasons. She hosted the show for its first 22 seasons after successfully pitching the concept to UPN.
