Heidi Klum on negative criticism
“If I annoy people, all they have to do is unfollow me”
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In a new interview, Heidi Klum speaks openly about how she deals with negative criticism of herself, her marriage and her family.
Heidi Klum (50) is not a person who pretends to please others. The “Germany’s Next Top Model” boss talks about this in a recent interview with the German edition of “Glamour” magazine. “I know that I’m offensive. But I think you have to stay authentic. I’m a woman who likes to be feminine, who is sometimes loud and colorful,” said the German model. “If I annoy people with this, then all they have to do is unfollow me. (…) I don’t pretend to be different just because this or that person doesn’t like me the way I am.” This is also the principle behind her show “GNTM”, which is currently in its 19th season on ProSieben (and as a stream on Joyn) running.
Heidi finds negative criticism “low-level”
To criticize other people negatively for who they are is personally foreign to her. “In 30 years of my career, I have never said anything negative about others. I find that low-class,” said Klum. When she reads certain headlines about her children, she gets in a bad mood. “When I see people complain about me having children with different men. There are so many people who have had failed marriages too.” It’s not nice, but it’s just her life. In general, she is not someone who looks back: “I look forward positively because I am generally a positive person.”
“I will always be 16 years older”
This is also reflected in her relationship with husband Tom Kaulitz (34). The two are separated by a 16-year age difference, a fact that Heidi is often asked about. “Time will not stand still for me, and Tom will never catch up with me. I will always be 16 years older, and I am aware of that,” reveals the 50-year-old, revealing her perspective on things. “In 20 years I’ll be 70. Normally I plan the future. I live in the here and now with my husband.”
In order to maintain at least a little control over the negative criticism online, the mother of four has long since deactivated the Instagram comment function. “I don’t want the hatred that exists among commentators – nor the hate that I am exposed to. Very negative articles have already appeared about me because of troll comments.”
“My children have thick skin”
She also taught her eldest daughter Leni Klum (19), who is now in the industry herself, that as a model you also have to deal with critics in public. “I made it clear to her from the start that as my daughter she would become a public target. Many people will find her cute, others will find her stupid. Just because she is my daughter. People who don’t like me might automatically like her too “Not. She must have thick skin, but my children do.”