Response to statement: fight against cyberbullying: GNTM finalist Lijana Kaggwa makes demands on Heidi Klum

Former GNTM finalist Lijana Kaggwa has published a video on her YouTube channel in which she calls for seven things that should change about the show in the future.

Response to statement: fight against cyberbullying: GNTM finalist Lijana Kaggwa makes demands on Heidi Klum

Former GNTM finalist Lijana Kaggwa has published a video on her YouTube channel in which she calls for seven things that should change about the show in the future. The 26-year-old addresses himself directly to Heidi Klum, the broadcaster ProSieben and the production company of the format.

Kaggwa himself took part in the 15th season of "Germany's Next Topmodel" in 2020, but decided to quit live in the final. Before that, she was exposed to massive hostilities, on the internet and on the street. She was insulted, insulted, spat on. At times she was under police protection and, according to her own statement, even had suicidal thoughts. Since leaving GNTM, Kaggwa has been campaigning against cyberbullying.

That's why she is now specifically demanding from Heidi Klum and those responsible for the show, "a more sensitive approach to content that could result in cyberbullying, cyber hatred or ridicule". In the best case, such scenes should not be broadcast in the first place, or they should be classified more clearly by Heidi Klum. After all, the 49-year-old is a role model for many. "If she took a clear stance on that, it would prevent many young people from spreading hate online," believes Kaggwa.

With her statements, she also refers to the ten-minute statement by Heidi Klum, which was broadcast in the first episode of the new GNTM season, but can no longer be found in the media library. In it, Klum commented on the ongoing criticism of her show. Among other things, she said: "If I could, I would do everything to put an end to this hatred."

Kaggwa makes concrete suggestions. For example, she demands that the GNTM makers get support from cyber bullying experts. They could not only advise which scenes should be broadcast and which should not, but also train the candidates in advance. Many are simply not prepared for what awaits them on the show. In addition, ProSieben should become active itself and report hate comments to the public prosecutor at an early stage.

In addition to her demands for more commitment in the fight against cyberbullying, Kaggwa criticizes GNTM's diversity approach. "Diversity means recognizing differences without evaluating them," says the 26-year-old. The show would fundamentally contradict that. The concept of the show is to highlight differences by judging the performance of the candidates, who is better and who is worse.

Kaggwa had already published two YouTube videos in May last year, in which she described how things go behind the scenes of "Germany's Next Top Model". The broadcaster and the production company then sued her for an injunction. Kaggwa was able to achieve a partial victory in court in two instances.

The star asked ProSieben whether they would like to comment on Kaggwa's demands. Instead of sending a statement, a spokeswoman referred to her own cyberbullying campaign, "which we not least initiated for and with Lijana during the season".

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