Celebrity supermodel Heidi Klum has iconic Halloween costumes every year, and fans can’t wait to see what she continues to have in store for the occasion. From robots to crows to worms, Klum never disappoints. However, one of her costumes from over a decade ago completely missed the mark, and fans of her work likely remember it as one of her most problematic costumes to date.
Heidi Klum’s Halloween costume of the Hindu goddess of death and time was her most problematic
In 2008, model Heidi Klum dressed for Halloween as Kali, the Hindu goddess of death and time. Texts and pictures depict Kali as a blue or black goddess with multiple arms, a necklace of faces, a long tongue, and a skirt made of human arms. She holds a human head in one of her arms and stands or dances on her husband beneath her. People from Kashmir, Kerala, South India, Bengal, and Assam typically worship Kali. She can also symbolize feminist empowerment.
Navaratri, which North, South, and West India celebrates, and Durga Puja, which Eastern India celebrates, have festivals dedicated to Kali.
Klum’s interpretation of Kali appeared very close to how the goddess is depicted. The Project Runway star wore blue from head to toe and utilized blue paint for her face. She had bloody human arms dangling from her waist, and each of her arms held something to symbolize the goddess — including a human head.
“I love it — I just have so much fun with it,” Klum shared during an interview with the Associated Press at her Halloween party. “Really, after tonight, I’ll be thinking already about next year. And it always has to be different, completely different. But I always like to have fangs, no matter what.”
“It took me about four hours,” she added regarding the Kali costume. “Matching the color of the suit and my face was a little bit of the hardest part.”
A reporter asked Klum how it felt trying to go to the bathroom in the Kali costume. “When I was pregnant and I was an apple, I couldn’t sit, stand, drink, or hear anybody, so this is actually quite easy,” she said.
As for how Klum came up with the idea, she said her assistant gave her the notion. “It was actually my assistant’s idea,” she told reporters, according to Vogue. “My husband and I were in India last year, so she said, ‘Why don’t you do an Indian goddess? Like a scary Indian goddess?’ And I said, ‘OK!'”
American Hindu leaders wanted a public apology
Heidi Klum’s 2008 Halloween costume impressed her peers. But American Hindu leaders didn’t feel the same. Consequently, Indian-American community leader Rajan Zed released a statement condemning Klum as a response.
“Goddess Kali is highly revered in Hinduism, and she is meant to be worshipped in temples and not to be used in clubs for publicity stunts or thrown around loosely for dramatic effect,” Zed stated, according to Times of India. “Hindus welcome Hollywood and other entertainment industries to immerse themselves in Hinduism, but they should take it seriously and respectfully and not just use the religion for decorating or to advance their selfish agenda.”
Other Hindu leaders, like Jawahar L. Khurana from the Hindu Alliance of India and Bhavna Shinde of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, called Klum’s costume “denigrating.” At the present time, it’s unclear if Klum regrets her choice of costume in 2008.
Elements of this story were originally reported by Hindu American.
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