Tyra Banks seeks unaired Miss J footage in Netflix defamation lawsuit

Netflix and the documentary’s producers argue the model’s request for raw interviews and other production materials is too broad.

Tyra Banks is pushing to obtain hours of unaired interview footage from former “America’s Next Top Model” colleagues Miss J. Alexander and Jay Manuel as her defamation case against Netflix and the producers of “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model” moves forward.

The lawsuit follows her June claim that the documentary used selective editing to create a false narrative and renewed attention on Miss J’s account of his relationship with Banks.

According to TMZ reports, Netflix and the documentary’s producers are opposing Banks’ request for raw interview footage that did not appear in the final series. Banks argues the material could support her claim that interviews were selectively edited in a way that damaged her reputation.

Her discovery requests go beyond the Miss J and Manuel interviews. Court documents cited by TMZ show Banks is also seeking internal communications about her, draft scripts, story notes, deposition testimony from people involved in making or reviewing the documentary, and Netflix viewership data.

The producers argue the requests are too broad for this stage of the case and do not qualify as the targeted discovery Banks needs to support her claims.

Banks filed the defamation lawsuit in June after participating in the Netflix documentary. She alleges filmmakers used only about 16 minutes from an interview that lasted more than three hours and omitted material that would have provided additional context.

One dispute centers on the documentary’s treatment of former contestant Shandi Sullivan’s account of an alleged sexual assault during production of the show. Banks says the editing created the false impression that she could not remember Sullivan’s story. She maintains that the full footage shows she did remember it.

Miss J also discussed his relationship with Banks in the documentary, saying she had not visited him after serious health problems left him hospitalized and unable to walk. Banks now wants access to the portions of his interview that viewers did not see.

Netflix and the producers have denied wrongdoing and previously asked a judge to dismiss the case, arguing that Banks agreed to be interviewed and granted broad editing rights.

Banks’ lawsuit remains in its early stages. The current dispute centers on how much behind-the-scenes material Banks can obtain before the court considers her defamation claims.