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About a month ago, Heidi Klum went on record, commenting about Gabrielle Union’s unceremonious firing from “America’s Got Talent.”
When asked about Union’s claims of sexism and racial discrimination, Klum said, “I’ve only had an amazing experience. I can’t speak for [Gabrielle]. I didn’t experience the same thing. To me, everyone treats you with the utmost respect. I’ve never seen anything that was weird or hurtful.”
The comment from the current “America’s Got Talent: Champions” judge was met with eyerolls and “Ok, girl-“s mostly because as a rich, White woman there’s a great chance that Klum wouldn’t experience what Gabrielle did as a Black woman.
And while the response to her comments would have been a good time for Klum to sit down and consider the ways she centered herself in a conversation about discrimination, that’s not what happened. Now, Klum is speaking out again, this time in confusion.
When Klum was attending the amfAR gala at Cipriani Wall Street, she told Page Six, “A lot of people got mad at me. I was called, for example ‘a White woman.’ I think it’s important for everyone to speak their truth. I think that when there is a story, it should be told. I had a different story. I can only speak to what I saw—it has nothing to do with that color I am. I am a human so I just looked at what I saw.”
The irony here is that this is peak White woman behavior. Klum, in her privilege, failed to see that her identity would directly influence not only what she sees but also which behaviors she would interpret as offensive.
Klum could have easily shared her experiences while acknowledging that her identity as a White woman makes her life and even her potential for oppression different.
See what people had to say about Klum on the following pages.
