Tyra Banks, the creator of America’s Next Top Model, made headlines in 2026 over contestant Shandi Sullivan’s account of a sexual assault incident and a Netflix documentary about it. Now, the model has spoken out, claiming that Netflix made her appear silent about the ANTM assault allegation.
Tyra Banks says Netflix omitted part of her response about former ANTM contestant Shandi Sullivan
According to TMZ’s coverage, the TV personality presented comparative video evidence in court as part of her effort to have Netflix’s defamation lawsuit dismissed. The lawsuit alleges that the America’s Next Top Model documentary distorted her statements.
The video footage highlights edited scenes involving Shandi Sullivan’s case and a conversation from 2004, while Netflix argues that the edits fell under editorial discretion.
The first video focuses entirely on Shandi Sullivan. After she describes an alleged sexual assault, Tyra Banks is asked, “You remember the story with Shandi?”
If we recall Episode 1, the model says “Um,” and the episode immediately cuts away, followed by a black screen. This made it appear as though she was unable to talk about the alleged assault. However, Tyra Banks claimed that footage from Episode 2 shows that she actually nodded and responded, “Um… I remember her story.” Her lawyers put it bluntly, “The nodding portion was not cut off. It was completely cut out.”
The 52-year-old also claims that the main reason for changing the sequence was to make it appear as though Banks herself had brought up the subject and forced Shandi to admit to cheating on camera.
Talking about the incident, it took place during Season 2 of America’s Next Top Model, where Shandi Sullivan was a contestant. The second season of the show, created by Tyra Banks, ran from January 13, 2004, to March 23, 2004.
The incident did not receive much public attention for a long time after the show ended. However, the matter resurfaced after Sullivan’s revelations in a documentary released in February 2026. As a result, Tyra Banks filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix and the documentary’s makers in June 2026.
