Overview
- Netflix and EverWonder filed a motion to dismiss and an anti‑SLAPP motion in mid‑August, saying Banks signed an interview release that waived review rights and certain claims including defamation.
- Banks sued in June, alleging Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model selectively edited her interview to create a false impression about her recollection of Cycle 2 contestant Shandi Sullivan’s alleged sexual assault.
- Banks’ lawyer Tom Clare has publicly demanded that Netflix produce her full, unedited interview so viewers and a court can compare raw footage with the finished documentary to test whether edits “materially distorted the truth.”
- The dispute now centers on pretrial motion practice: the court must decide whether the signed release and speech protections end the case or whether disclosure of the raw tape will let the case survive to discovery.
- Beyond the parties, the outcome could shape how courts treat defamation and false‑light claims against documentary makers and affect reputations of Banks and former America’s Next Top Model participants.