Ten drag queens from Germany, Austria and Switzerland compete against each other, every week there is a new task: The show "Queen of Drags" is a kind of German version of the US format "RuPaul's Drag Race", which has been around for ten years.
For the TV format, Bill Kaulitz, Conchita Wurst and Heidi Klum will sit on the jury - but for the choice of the 46-year-old model as a juror, there is little understanding, especially from the queer community. For example, Klum is accused of having no significant connection to the gay and drag queen scene.
Conchita Wurst, bourgeois Tom Neuwirth, can not understand the criticism. He said that in an interview with Time Online. "I take this opportunity to bring the drag theme into the mainstream, and find that Heidi, even if she is not from this scene, has an absolute right to judge a performance," Neuwirth said in an interview.
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"The criticism was incredibly loud, and I was a bit confused," said the 31-year-old, "because our community always seeks to be inclusive, inclusive and without prejudice to people."
Without Klum, the program is probably not on German television, said Neuwirth alias sausage. "Would this format have been done without them, maybe not now or maybe never, or maybe on a slot where nobody would have been interested," said the 31-year-old "Time Online". "She is of course a multiplier and a very sensitive one."
Mitjuror Bill Kaulitz, brother of Tom Kaulitz and brother in law of Klum, defended the model: "Heidi is an incredibly tolerant, open woman," said the musician about his sister-in-law. The 46-year-old was thus the perfect cast for the ProSieben show.
Matthias Balk / dpa
Bill Kaulitz and Heidi Klum will join the jury on the show "Queen of Drags"
The negative reactions also surprised Bill Kaulitz somewhat, as he says: he would have expected more openness. "People want equality and tolerance and I would have expected just as much tolerance."
Drag queens are women costumed men who often wear a stage name, in Germany is one of the most famous Olivia Jones.
On the subject of cultural appropriation, including the allegation that Klum and ProSieben were simply using drag culture to make money, Tom Neuwirth said: "I was told that financial gain was the main problem." He could understand that for a while. "I hope, but also that our Queens have careers according to this format and can do what they like most, every day."
