• tip english
  • Heidi Klum as RuPaul? The battle for Germany’s Drag Race

tip English

Heidi Klum as RuPaul? The battle for Germany’s Drag Race

Drag queen in rainbow-hued costume during Berlin's 2019 CSD parade. Berlin's drag scene is uniting against the casting of Heidi Klum as the host of Germany's version of the TV show Drag Race.
Berlin has a lively drag scene – not only during CSD celebrations. (Photo: imago images/Pacific Press Agency/Beata Siewicz).

Can model Heidi Klum really take the place of RuPaul for the German version of Drag Race? Berlin’s queens doubt it.

Queerness and diversity: values that Heidi Klum doesn’t necessarily embody. The German model hosts the show Germany’s Next Topmodel over here, and has acquired the reputation of being, well, a kind of hyper-normative drill-instructor as a result. Therefore a lot of queers are less than happy that she’s set to host new show Queen of Drag, the German version of RuPaul’s Drag Race. They are so unhappy in fact that drag artists Margot Schlönzke and Ryan Stecken started a petition to oust Klum. And, more important still, replace her with someone who really cares about queer culture and community. More than 27,000 people have added their signatures so far — no word yet from Heidi.



Translated by Aida Baghernejad



[smbtoolbar]

Tip Berlin - Support your local Stadtmagazin