Heidi Klum recently opened up to Page Six about the intense scrutiny that she faced for her dismissive comments regarding Gabrielle Union’s claims of unfair treatment while serving as a judge on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.”
In November, news began to circulate that Union was fired from the show after she reported racism and other toxic components that were taking place on set. Union claimed that she was the subject of an overwhelming amount of comments related to her hairstyles, some stating that they were “too black.”
However, during a Television Critics Association event last month, former model Heidi Klum, who was also a judge on the show for six seasons, gave a very different account of her experience with AGT.
“I’ve only had an amazing experience on the show. I can’t speak for Gabrielle. I didn’t experience the same thing. To me, everyone treats you with the utmost respect,” she said.
But the comments did not go over well with supporters of Union, who felt that Klum was dismissing Union’s claims, noting that the fact that Klum is a white woman is the reason that she and Union were treated noticeably different.
On Wednesday, Klum revealed the backlash she received following her comments to Page Six during the amfAR gala at Cipriani Wall Street.
“A lot of people got mad at me. I was called, for example, ‘a white woman. I think it is important for everyone to speak their truth. I think that when there is a story, it should be told. I had a different story.” Klum also added, “I can only speak to what I saw, it has nothing to do with what color I am. I am a human, so I just looked at what I saw.”
