Germany's Next Topmodel

Germany's Next Topmodel (often abbreviated as GNTM) is a German reality television series based on the concept introduced by Tyra Banks with America's Next Top Model. The competition is hosted by Heidi Klum, who also serves as the lead judge and executive producer of the show.

It is currently the longest-running Top Model adaptation, with a span of 19 years, and the Top Model series with the second-most number of cycles. The show has faced heavy criticism in Germany due to the treatment of its contestants. The allegations include gaslighting, abuse of power, misrepresentation of contestants and manipulations by the crew as well as body shaming. The show is also accused of being responsible for the cyberbullying and death threats against the contestants due to the show's misrepresentation of them. The show is also in the focus of the Commission for Youth Media Protection and the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. Former judges have distanced themselves from the show.

Show format
Germany's Next Topmodel currently has 19 cycles. Each cycle has ten to 18 episodes and starts with 12–40 contestants.

During each episode, one contestant is eliminated, although a double/triple elimination or no elimination may occur based on the consensus of the judging panel. Makeovers are administered to contestants early in the competition, usually after the first or second elimination in the finals.

Differences between ANTM and GNTM
While America's Next Top Model typically starts with 30 semi-finalists who are cut down to a batch of between ten and 16 contestants, Germany's Next Top Model cycle premieres begin with highlights from the auditions of 100 candidates (Cycles 1 and 2) and 120 candidates (Cycle 3), respectively.

The panel challenge in front of the judges on America's Next Top Model is almost always replaced by a runway walk in front of the judges on the German show.

In the elimination process on America's Next Top Model, host Tyra Banks hands out a photograph to each of the contestants who are safe, in order of merit. The bottom two of each episode are called to stand before Banks and are judged individually.

The call-out order plays a significant role in determining the best contestant of the week—a departure from Germany's Next Top Model, where the call-out order does not provide insights into the quality of the contestants' performance, except during the final. Moreover, they are called out one by one while the others are waiting in the backstage lobby. The US contestants are all present. GNTM also starts the finale with three or four contestants left, while in ANTM, the finale starts with two or three contestants left.

On the American show, the final five or six contestants embark on a journey to an international destination. "In contrast, the German version does not consistently commit to the number of journeys abroad. Cycle 1 went abroad two times, Cycle 2 did so four times, and Cycle 3 went to six different countries.

On America's Next Top Model, the final two or three contestants compete on a runway, and the winner is chosen in the judging room. On Germany's Next Top Model, between three to five contestants compete on a runway and a photo shoot in front of a live audience in Cologne, Germany before the winner is revealed. The final show is live on TV. Cycle 4's final show was the first to air live from a concert hall instead of a TV studio.

Due to the pregnancy of Heidi Klum, the start of the fifth cycle was postponed and kicked off in March. Instead, a spin-off called Die Model WG was shown featuring several former contestants from the show and hosted by judge Peyman Amin.

Host and judges
Only Heidi Klum herself has been part of the judging panel on every cycle. All the other permanent judges have always been male. Thomas Hayo remained a permanent judge for the longest (six consecutive cycles), followed by Peyman Amin (four consecutive cycles). After leaving the show, Amin eventually hosted the show's spin-off, Die Model WG, and signed Cycle 5's winner Alisar Ailabouni despite never meeting her on the show. Although Boris Entrup was only a regular judge on Cycle 2, he still was part of the show until 2017 as the makeup advisor. In 2017, Wolfgang Joop became the first former judge to return as he was a guest judge for one episode, a finale, and came back in 2018 as well.

The judging panel since Cycle 14 has consisted of guest judges, with Klum being the only permanent judge.

Criticism and controversies
As of 2023, many celebrities, organizations, and former contestants have publicly spoken out against the show such as Beth Ditto, Eva Padberg, Julia Stegner, Carolin Kebekus, Cordula Stratmann, Désirée Nick, Wolfgang Joop, Roger Willemsen, Sara Nuru, Simone Kowalski, Femen and even the German Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth.

Since Cycle 5, the show's ratings have decreased. To improve ratings, showrunners shifted their focus to inciting conflict between contestants.

The show has faced criticism from within the modeling industry for its minimal relevance and focus on shock value. In 2009, German model Julia Stegner said that Germany's Next Topmodel has "little to do with the reality of modeling." In 2012, former judge Rolf Scheider criticized the program, saying "the show has never produced a new Nadja Auermann or Claudia Schiffer" and that contestants who "lack modeling talent" are selected purely for ratings. In April 2022, the head of MGM Models, Marco Sinervo, expressed that the format has nothing to do with models or fashion, but with the abuse of contestants.

Due to its ratings-driven nature, the program has faced backlash for abusing contestants. The models are treated poorly on set, often not given enough food, having their mobile phones confiscated, and having limited time to use the restroom. Former judge Wolfgang Joop criticized the show, stating he left because of the program's focus on scenes like "contestants collapsing, getting homesick, crying and falling on their heels." In Episode 9 of Cycle 12, the contestants had a photoshoot on a bed with male models wearing lingerie that took place in the streets of Los Angeles, causing a car accident that Klum made light of. In 2019, Cycle 4 contestant Tessa Bergmeier criticized the show and production team, stating they "often put words and phrases in the contestants' mouths that they would never have said." Former contestant Jana Heinisch said that disputes are deliberately provoked by the production. A physical fight in Cycle 14 between contestants Jasmin Cadete and Lena Lischewski led to Cadete's disqualification. Lischewski's lawyer sued ProSieben and the cameramen, calling it "unacceptable that a television station films a minor beaten by another participant and the present camera crew does not intervene." After Vanessa Stanat quit Cycle 14, ProSieben took over her official Instagram account and her personal account shortly after, possibly due to anger from her quitting weeks before the finale. In 2020, Cycle 14 winner Simone Kowalski said that "it is not right that it is perceived as entertainment, how young people put each other down." In March 2020, Cycle 13 contestant Abigail Odoom revealed that she had a car accident during a challenge that involved a high speed car. She claimed that not only was she not allowed to talk about the car accident, but also that she was not taken care of in a timely and appropriate manner. In May 2022, Chiara "Kiki" Hölzl from Cycle 10 also revealed that she broke her arm during a photo shoot that the production team buried. Contestant Lijana Kaggwa received death threats after participating in Cycle 15 of Germany's Next Topmodel, leading her to seek police protection. Mareike Fangmann from Stern wrote that "[ProSieben] also has complicity because the broadcaster knows exactly how to cut scenes together in order to identify a clear bitch. Good for the ratings, good for the show." In December 2020, Kaggwa also stated, "The broadcast of GNTM 2020 completely ruined me mentally. I've become a different person." Cycle 9 contestant Nathalie Volk agreed with Kaggwa, saying "I have scars on my body because of Heidi." In February 2021, Cycle 16 contestants had to walk nude in front of Heidi Klum, which was criticized by the audience and Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. Despite this criticism, In February 2022, the contestants once again had a nude public photoshoot for Cycle 17. They also did a photoshoot from 122 meters in the air, leading to contestant Linda Braunberger's panic attack and subsequent elimination. Six contestants quit this cycle, most of them citing the decline of their mental health. In September 2022, the winner of the Cycle 4, Sara Nuru, joined the criticism of the show, confessing she was "not aware of how blatantly young women were treated there." She added: "With the knowledge I have today, I would not take part in Germany's Next Topmodel again." In April 2022, Hendrik Busch from the online magazine Moviepilot described GNTM as manipulative psycho terror. The former contestant Tamara Hitz of Cycle 15 revealed that the contestants always had an inkling of who would soon be eliminated because leading up to the elimination, that contestant would be filmed more frequently, proving the fake scripted background of the show and the cruel treatment of the entire production with the contestants. In August 2022 Marie Nasemann (contestant from Cycle 4) revealed that she suffers from scoliosis. Back in 2009, during Cycle 4, her scoliosis was discussed at a casting for Samsung. The editors of GNTM tried to make her cry because of her illness and she also reveals: "I found out years later that Samsung would have liked to book me, but from the production side it wasn't allowed".

The show has also faced criticism for the danger it poses to its young impressionable female audience. In May 2015, psychiatrist Manfred Lütz said the program promotes anorexia. GNTM is subject to regular checks by the German Commission for Youth Media Protection. Süddeutsche Zeitung argued it does not matter who wins the show, because it is only about promotion, the showmanship of Heidi Klum, and promoting a deadly body image. German influencer Kayla Shyx saw three effects of the show: "Suicidal thoughts, anxiety, and depression." According to a study by the "International Central Institute for Youth and Educational Television" a third of all girls surveyed with eating disorders named GNTM as a trigger for it. German comedian Carolin Kebekus said "Germany's Next Topmodel made many greats: eating disorders, self-loathing, cyberbullying" and "this year they went crazy for diversity because every woman has the right to be humiliated by Heidi Klum." In February 2023, German InTouch wrote: "The willingness to use violence among girls is increasing. They form gangs, bully, hit. Heidi is also partly responsible for the fact that, at least on TV, such behavior should not lead to extra airtime". The article goes on to say: "With Germany’s Next Topmodel absolutely wrong values are conveyed. It gives the impression that bullying is a legitimate means of dealing with each other." In May 2013, during the live finale of Cycle 8, Klum was attacked by two topless Femen activists, Zana Ramadani and Hellen Langhorst, who flashed her.

The contestants' contracts are legally and morally dubious, as they often unevenly benefit Klum and her father Günther. In 2011, Cycle 5 winner Alisar Ailabouni withdrew from her contract with ONEeins Management (which is managed by Heidi Klum's father Günther), which she received as part of her prize. This was the first time a winner of the show sued her way out of a prize contract. Ailabouni was not invited to Cycle 6's live finale, while several ProSieben-related magazines referred to Cycle 4 winner Sara Nuru as "last year's winner", given she was working as a backstage host. Since then, a number of other contestants have withdrawn from their contracts with ONEeins, including Viktoria Lantratova and Miriam Höller (both Cycle 5), Jana Beller (Cycle 6 winner), Luise Will (Cycle 8) and Aminata Sanogo (Cycle 9). In May 2017 the German radio and television broadcaster Philipp Walulis criticized the show and its practices within his YouTube show "Walulis". His main criticism is that the contestants get gagging contracts and that the show is only concerned about advertising campaigns instead of the contestants, with some former contestants providing testimony. In December 2020, Cycle 14 winner Simone Kowalski met Günther in court, reaching a verdict that her contract with Günther Klum will be terminated and Kowalski will receive her full salary. In February 2023 Der Spiegel covered the notorious gag contracts that contestants sign to compete. According to Jörg Nabert, these are "illegal gag contracts" that bind models to the agency for two years, which is not customary in the modeling industry.

Heidi Klum herself is criticized for her treatment of the contestants and her self-centeredness. Puls24 considered her behavior gaslighting. German comedian Cordula Stratmann referred to Klum as "the face and soul of a cold-hearted, disgusting production" and "the trainer in malice and condescension." Charlotte Koep via T-Online referred to the program and Klum as "the ego show of the GNTM deadbeat mom". In August 2022, media personality Désirée Nick interviewed Nathalie Volk on her podcast. Volk stated "What could be easier than to play your power over little girls who trust you? That is morally very questionable, like everything Heidi Klum has ever done". Cycle 4 contestant Tessa Bergmeier described Klum as a "super-mega psycho". Papis Loveday, who also worked on GNTM, added about Klum: "She only thinks of herself. Nobody can shine more than she does." In February 2023, the former judge Peyman Armin criticized the show and Klum, saying "It has become a pure self-portrayal by Heidi. Heidi comes first. Then Heidi and Heidi again. When Heidi Klum is in the foreground and takes care of the slapstick, for sensational shootings and catfights." In April 2023, Heidi Klum said about everything that happens at GNTM: "At the end of the day I'm the boss and I make the rules!"

In June 2023, the German TV broadcaster ZDF released a 70-minute investigative documentary about the machinations of the makers of GNTM called "Pressure, hatred, manipulation: how sick does Germany's Next Topmodel make you?" For this documentary, around 50 former contestants, judges and members of the show's crew were interviewed, some anonymously. The makers of the documentary admitted that they are familiar with difficult investigations, but they have never experienced it before that so many people were afraid to talk about what happened as these former participants and employees of GNTM. A crew member of the show who wished to remain anonymous is quoted as saying: "If you film a young woman from morning to night, you'll get every sectional image you want. So you can cut and tell what you want. A lot of things are cut together wildly. The jobs depend on it. It's about ratings." In addition, former contestants report how the show's editors deliberately foment manipulation, lies and discord among the contestants behind the scenes. The contestants are shielded from the outside world so they lose their nerve and argue. So 20 candidates have to sleep together in one room without contact to the outside world. The statements by Heidi Klum, the broadcasting TV station ProSieben and the production company are presented as hypocrisy. ProSieben is said to have earned 87 million euros with the Cycle 18, and Heidi Klum 10 million euros. The contestants receive no money. GNTM has driven some contestants into depression and suicidal thoughts.