Tyra Banks’ legal battle over Netflix’s Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model is escalating, with the former America’s Next Top Model host seeking access to hours of previously unaired interview footage.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Banks wants raw footage featuring former ANTM personalities Miss J and Jay Manuel. She reportedly believes the unedited material could help demonstrate that the documentary presented interviews in a misleading way and contributed to what she considers defamatory portrayals of her.
Netflix and the documentary’s producers are pushing back against Banks’ requests. The production side reportedly argues that she does not have an automatic right to obtain the unaired interviews, along with internal communications concerning her, draft scripts, story notes and deposition testimony from filmmakers and editors.
The producers also object to Banks seeking Netflix’s internal viewership information. Their position, according to the court documents cited by TMZ, is that the requests are overly broad and go beyond the discovery necessary at this early stage of the lawsuit.
The dispute centers on how the documentary’s final edit portrayed Banks and whether material excluded from the released production could provide important context. Banks’ effort to obtain the complete interviews could therefore become significant as her legal claims move forward.
Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model revisits the legacy of the long-running modeling competition, bringing former contestants and personalities back to discuss their experiences on the show.