Heidi Klum is facing backlash again over posing with her daughter Leni for a lingerie campaign. Photo: AP
Heidi Klum is facing backlash again over posing with her daughter Leni for a lingerie campaign.
On May 2, the supermodel and America's Got Talent judge shared another lingerie shot of herself with her 18-year-old daughter, Leni Klum. The mother-daughter duo have been the faces of Italian lingerie label Intimissimi for nearly a year, despite some social media blowback critiquing the two for appearing together in their skivvies.
In the photos, Heidi Klum posed in a lavender-and-cream lace bra-and-underwear set, and her daughter wore a white lace set featuring a bra and a cheeky bottom, both with beaded accents. Leni Klum paired her look with a cream-coloyred satin pyjama blouse.
The 49-year-old German-born supermodel captioned the photos, in part: "Yiiiipppppiiiiiiii our new @intimissimiofficial campaign is here!"
The Victoria's Secret and Sports Illustrated alum has the comments on her Instagram turned off, but her daughter, who also shared the new campaign shots, has left her comments open, and naysayers are flocking to shame the two for their bold move, calling it "weird" and "strange" among other things.
"Ewwww what mum would want to pose with their daughter in bra and panties for the world to see," one Instagram user wrote.
"First thing I think of when I want to pose in my intimates: 'My mum should be here!,'" commented another.
"I would not be proud to show my daughter off in this way. I would feel embarrassed and sad," one wrote.
Other commenters shut down the critics and praised the duo for posing together.
"How prudent some people are here," one user quipped, perhaps meaning to say prudish instead of prudent. "Babbling about what women need to stick together and are supposed to gain more self-determination, but freak out when two beautiful, confident women show up in lingerie. Figure it out."
Intimissimi also shared several shots of the two on its own Instagram page, and the comments section was just as divided.
"They are both gorgeous. The daughter is 18 and considered an adult. Anyone who has a problem with this photo should really check themselves. Why do you have a problem? Are you just jealous? Get a life! It's called modelling," one comment read.
In October 2022, when the campaign first dropped, fans of the Klums were just as divided over how to feel about seeing a mother and daughter pose together in lingerie.
Leni Klum made her modelling debut at 16 when she posed on the cover of Vogue Germany's January/February 2021 issue alongside her mum. Photo: Heidi Klum/Instagram
Leni Klum spoke with Page Six at the time, addressing the criticism and making it clear that it doesn't get her down.
"I honestly didn't look at a lot of the reactions," she told the outlet. "I am overall happy with the campaign and I had an amazing day with my mum. I think the photos turned out great, and we had an amazing time.
"I love shooting with her. Just the advice she gives me, the way she works, everything about her, I can go on and on."
Leni made her modelling debut at 16 when she posed on the cover of Vogue Germany's January/February 2021 issue alongside her mum. (They wore vibrant pantsuits for the shoot.)
"It was only a matter of time before I would try to become a model myself," she told Vogue. "The first offer came when I was only 12 or 13, from a brand I liked to wear: Brandy Melville. At that time I begged my mother, but no chance. Now I understand that it would have been too early."
The budding model is studying interior design in college and her supermodel mum says she couldn't be more proud. "I'm very proud of my daughter and her modelling," Heidi Klum told People in March. "And she's studying at the same time, she's juggling already." – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service
