Heidi Klum Angers Hindu Leaders With Halloween Costume
Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed says Heidi Klum has gone too far this year by dressing up as Goddess Kali this Halloween.
What may have seemed like a little fun for the German supermodel has deeply upset Hindu scholars, who feel Klum should make a public apology for posing as a sacred figure.
"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 effects.
"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 decoration or to advance their selfish agenda.
Casual flirting sometimes results in pillaging serious spiritual doctrines and revered symbols and hurting the devotees."
Zed is not alone in his outrage; various other Hindu leaders, including Jawahar L. Khurana of the Hindu Alliance of India, and Bhavna Shinde of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, have also criticized Klum for posing as Goddess Kali on Halloween.
What do you think? Was it all in good fun? Or was Heidi disrespectful?
300 points
Well, disrespectful or not, it was one HELL of a costume. I'm sure she didn't mean to offend.
It's called cultural misappropriation made worse by the fact Kali is a religious figure. It is completely obvious that some white people are STILL ignorant about other cultures/religions. So much so that they justify Heidi's airheaded and offensive halloween custom with idiotic statements like the one above. This is my favorite one: "I'm [obviously white] christian and I'm not offended". Duh, b***hes, it's not your religion or culture! Why should you give a damn. SMDH
So if she dressed up as a cow would Indians be insulted? People dress up as Jesus all of the time, hell - people even name their children after him. I think everyone needs to lighten up and realize she was just having fun. I'm sure she meant no disrespect. My gosh - grow up.
I don't undersand....is naming your child Jesus (which is a sign of religious respect) offense?
I couldn't agree with you more. In fact, there were people at that Halloween party dressed as Jesus, I've seen pictures. No one took offense. Heidi wasn't even the only one there in that costume.
This is much ado about nothing. In the week of possibly the most historic political activity of all time, people are making a fuss over a Halloween costume? Get a life!
yes obviously white people are the problem...ever heard of reverse racism?? you ARE an idiot! it was just a freaking costume....go vote for obama and quit being a bitch...seriously im white, and i respect other people's cultures and such, it just seems outrageous that we all need to step on eggshells not to hurt each other's feelings. i know lots of ignorant black people if you really want to go there...
You are an idiot asshole. This is not a case of "reverse racism". It is an instance of cultural insensitivy. I don't believe heidi klum meant to disrespect ppl. But the fact remains that she used a sacred symbol in a fashion that is offensive to a sect of ppl. Similar to a reaction from a group of catholics that would be angered at the sight of ppl dressed in pope and nun costumes. Its not about catering to ppl's feelings its about being proactive and knowledgable of other cultures. Additionally I don't see where "ignorant blacks" fit into your argument, being that this is a a discussion of insensitivity to the religion of Islam. You have shown your true colors, u rascist prick. You will be eating your words when President OBAMA prevails. --- since you went and put your own insecurities on blast, bringing up political and racial attitudes that obviously keep u up at night.
Cultural insensitivity is what America is all about. Welcome!
islam? i don´t think so, dumbass.
Just to let you know, this is about HINDUISM, not ISLAM. Talk about cultural insensitivity - you can't even get the religion right.
“Reverse Racism” is an offensive term that suggests that racism is an inherently “white” problem. Racism is universal.
"obviously white christian" ?? you have completely contradicted your point about white people being ignorant when YOU yourself don't see that christians come in all races and ethnic backgrounds (chinese, korean, hispanic, middle eastern, african)
Lots of people in our culture dress as Jesus, the Pope, God, etc., and there is still reverence for them. This is a different country and "Hindu officials" shouldn't be allowed to regulate what goes on here. In our culture, on Halloween, it is traditional for people to dress up in shocking, frightening, and outlandish costumes.
Do you realize Hindu is a religion and there are many Hindu people living in America? Our culture is a mixed religious culture. If you think Americans are all Christian, you need to grow up.
We're just sayin Heidi should have been a bit more sensitive before choosing to dress up as Kali.
This costume has certainly earned her a lot of attention, but at a high price.
I have just lost some respect for the supermodel for this insensitivity.
Yeah you right I don't give a flying fuck about some stupid ass monkey religion. If you're offended its your fucking problem, not mine. Get the fuck out of this country if you don't like something about it nobody will stop you.
hahaha love it.
ok let the new president hear you say that! dumb ass you go back where you came from! unless you are native american this is not your home land so stop telling anyoen to go back!
and yes this costume is disrespectful and ignorant. if you are a public figure you should know what is and isn't offensive.
At first i thought "whats the big deal, its just a halloween costume" but i have to understand the Hindu's feelings in this. I am a Christian, and if she had dressed up like Jesus, I would have been offended. So I can understand the Hindus for being upset. I dont think she meant to offend anyone though. so please dont be too hard on her.
YouAreAnIdiot - Your continued inference that Christianity is a ‘White’ religion is rather misguided as it is a religion that spans the entire globe. In fact the highest percentage of Catholics in the world rests in the Philippines. Your continued posting of the exact same post over and over, with its reference to skin colour (that is not a typo by the way, That is how ‘colour’ is spelt in my country) suggests to me that you want not only to make this an issue of differing ideologies, but one of different skin shades. So for the record I am Caucasian and Buddhist. My first impression of the costume was “WOW!” and my second reaction was to look more into what Kali is. As a Buddhist I have no doubt that the Buddhist community would be fine with Mrs. Klum dressing as a Tibetan god next year or even as the Dalai Lama himself, a tribute I’m sure he would find very amusing.
I am from the Philippines, and though it is the only Catholic or Christian country in Asia it does not have the highest percentage of Catholics in the world. Both Italy and Poland have a larger percentage of Catholics in their population, by more than 10% in each country.
While it is a grave assumption, Christianity is in fact a predominantly Caucasian religion.
The Philippines has a population of 91,077,287, 81% of which are Catholics. Poland has a population of 38,518,241 90% identify as Catholic. Spain has a population of 40,44,191 94% Catholic. So while you are correct that these two countries do have higher percentages of Catholics, clearly with a population greater than both countries put together the Philippines has easily the larger amount of Catholics.
There are an estimated 145 million Catholics in Brazil - the highest number of any country in the world, representing 74% (International Religious Freedom Report 2005) of the Brazilian population.
Yaay what do we win?
I like the costume, and there will alwys be someone offended anyways, she could dress as Jesus that I wouldnt have a problem with that. There is a bunch of naughty nuns around and I dont see anyone conplaining.
I think Heidi's evident dedication to replicating an accurate portrayal of Kali shows her respect for the goddess as well as Hinduism. Look at the sensational detail she put into this costume! It's not like she just threw something together for fun and "dressed up" as Kali. Clearly something about the goddess spoke to a part of her and she wanted to show that. She invoked the spirit of what it means to be Kali with this costume and I don't think she owes anybody an apology for being so obviously complimentary.
I think Heidi's evident dedication to replicating an accurate portrayal of Kali shows her respect for the goddess as well as Hinduism. Look at the sensational detail she put into this costume! It's not like she just threw something together for fun and "dressed up" as Kali. Clearly something about the goddess spoke to a part of her and she wanted to show that. She invoked the spirit of what it means to be Kali with this costume and I don't think she owes anybody an apology for being so obviously complimentary.
you might ask yourself, why do deities NEED humans to get offended and do something for them? Too many layers of BS in religion that people don't consider because they turn off their critical thinking.
Remember when Seal blew up at the paparazzi for disrespecting him and his family even though they were just doing their job???
Well F**k Seal, Klum and their whole family. I hope the paparazzi eat them alive. Hypocritical bastards!
Wonder if Ms Klum is liking her four extra seconds of attention, since Kali does not like to be mocked. Yet the outrage is not there among Westerners because they can only think in the terms in which they treat their dieties..
The myraid comments stating "Well, people dress like Jesus" as some sort of justification is missing the point. That is Christianity, and it is a different religion, obviously. Thus, this sorry attempt at an excuse by saying, basically "my Western religion does this, so who cares about Eastern dieties" is narcissistic and irrevalent. Just because your religion allegedly allows mocking of dieties means it is okay, because it is your religion? Sorry, game over. If you dress up as deities for Halloween, it shows your religion is having some real problems.
Kali is a fierce diety, and if you want to get into specifics, Ms Klum is only showing Kali in one of her stages. She was never raised in the Hindu tradition and has no idea of what she has done. It is sad she has so little respect for the traditions of other cultures. She wants attention, and she has disrespected and misinterpreted this major Goddess in the most vulgar fashion imaginable. May Mother Kali help her.
Bette
In our culture, on Halloween, it is traditional for people to dress up in shocking, frightening, and outlandish costumes. They're offended at Heidi's irreverence for their culture, and I'm offended they they are trying to infringe on my culture.
You live in AMERICA! Your CULTURE is their CULTURE, duh! They live in AMERICA too. I hope other 'culture' infringe on your 'culture' your whole life. Your probably one of those idiots that don't want O'bama to win because his father was Muslim.
I think, maybe, you misunderstood what Anonymous was trying to say. They were merely stating how they celebrate a holiday where costumes are appropriate. It would be hypocritical for someone who doesn't celebrate Halloween to be offended or try to publicly criticize someone who does, whether they live down the street, or on the other side of the world.
And there's no apostrophe in Obama, he's not a leprechaun.
I agree. I think there is a problem when people say "I saw so many people dressed up as Jesus and I don't care." Well, you should. We should all care. Saying you don't mind that others are impersonating religious figures just shows there's no respect for these religions. IMO so many people always say "Oh I saw people dressed up as Jesus..." well, how about taking a picture of that person and showing it to your priest or reverend? I'm sure they will NOT be amused.
It's funny because people usually think their way is the only way in the world and Halloween is no different: it should be a time for fun, and partying the night away. So if something like this issue about Heidi comes up, then it is ridiculous, stupid, retarded, bogus, blah blah blah. I suggest we put ourselves in other people's shoes and think the way they do about their religion. People get mad when you insult their favorite sports team/actors/TV show, but they say "this is stupid. get over it" if someone else gets upset over an insult to their religion. Hypocritical, the lot of us.
Wow you're dumb.... Religion was made up as a tool of control. If you dumb enough to believe in that crap its your problem. Smart educated people that actually opened up their history books as kids don't have to respect anything. You are stupid not them.
just because you don't believe in it doesn't mean everybody else feels the same way. It doesn't matter why religion was made (to give people something to believe in, because other words life would be pointless), it does matter that you respect everyone. I like how you think that if you are educated then you don't have to respect anyone. You probably use that line every night before you loose conscience to someone's fist. Your parents taught you well and should be proud that their child will always be ignorant. Its the American way.
This implies that people are obligated to respect religion.
If one does not follow a religion or hold religious beliefs and lives in a country that is not ruled theocratically, why should they HAVE to respect any religion?
If she had dressed up as a real person, perhaps this argument would have some credence. Dressing as a mythological character doesn't demean anyone unless they let it. That's THEIR problem.
Ok, since you feel this way... you no longer have the right to feel offended whenever anybody disrespects you or our religion, if you have one.
Cuz as you said, why should people be obliged to respect?
What everyone seems to be missing here is that even though this may been extremely offensive to many people, Klum's costume has opened a dialogue about Hinduism that is largely ignored in this country. Yes, it may have been disrespectful, but now it will be discussed and the broader issue of cultural insensitivity throughout the Western world is exposed that much more.
dude...people go dressed up as moses and jesus all the time.
I bet if she dressed as a prominent figure in the Catholic religion there would be no outrage. People need to relax a little.
300 points
This is dumb. People will find things to get outraged about regardless what you do. She always has fun with her Halloween costumes and she doesn't strike me as a person who sets out to offend people.
There is nothing wrong with the Hindu finding this offensive. It is their religion and their Goddess.
Heidi was inappropriate.
You know, on the one hand, her decision to dress up as Kali Ma is a form of sacriliege that possibly she is unaware of. On the other hand, her costume is quite accurate to the Goddess's likeness which could possibly be out of respect for her. I think that as a follower of the Hindu faith, you would know better than to try and imitate any God or Goddess especially one who has a very strict mandate of how to worship. Coming from a Christian background and a culture that takes pride in the visual representations of religious figures (dressing up as) that Heidi and most caucasians are familiar with, she probably had good intentions at heart although ignorant. I think that it is not about saying that she's stupid and insensitive for dressing as Kali because we don't know that for fact, but educating her about the faux pas and the possible hurt that has occurred within the Hindu community of the US would probably be much wiser and stronger. I should also add here that I don't think that the problem necessarily lies within her choice to dress up as Kali so much as it does for the purpose of dressing up as Her for a Christian/Pagan holiday.
I think people are overreacting..how many people dress up as jesus or pregnant nuns and what not. It's Halloween it's a day to dress up as anything you want. Besides Kali is a Hindu goddess associated with death and destruction which gives more reason why someone would be interested as dressing as her for Halloween. They are overreacting period. Heidi did it out of fun not out of disrespect. It's not like Hinduism is the only religion people dress up like. Get over it.
I agree- this is no different than dressing up as Jesus or a nun.
Are you daft? it is totally different.
Isn't it great that most people here have to resort to insults instead of arguments? A sign of no legitimate point.
But seriously, how can you criticize her for disrespecting a religion, then turn around and say it is totally different from other people dressing up as Jesus or a Nun? Isn’t that contrary to your argument? You are accusing people of violating your beliefs, and at the same time condoning the same violation to other beliefs.
In any case, the assumption that Catholics or other Christians are not offended by Jesus costumes equates to something being wrong with their belief is just flawed. Why doesn’t it mean that they are just secure in their and are not going to be offended by someone making a costume?
I am sure her reps are going to have her cave in and apologize, but I think it is unwarranted. You say cultural sensitivity; I think you are just pushing oversensitivity.
I agree, overly sensitive people indeed. Ugh, people are always going to take offense over something. Can't we all just lighten up a bit? It's Halloween, and if you live in this country you should know that all bets are off with costumes and that it is all in good fun, not to be taken seriously. Or would you prefer that we heighten the already out of control PC movement we've got going on and put a ban on any costume that could potentially offend someone? I don't think we'd have Halloween anymore if that were the case. I'm sure there's at least one person out there that is deeply offended by pumpkins. Besides, it is obvious there was no malice or disrespect behind her costume choice. She wasn't making a statement about the Hindu religion, for or against, any more than people are who choose to dress up like Buddha, Jesus, the Pope and a slew of other meaningful cultural figures.
I have to object and say that this is completely different. Though Western culture may be laid back and have no problem with poking a little fun at their religion once in a while, you can't expect that Hindu followers will have a similar mindset. Although it may have been overkill to demand an apology from Heidi as she obviously had no intention to offend, they have every right to be insulted.
It's called cultural misappropriation made worse by the fact Kali is a religious figure. It is completely obvious that some white people are STILL ignorant about other cultures/religions. So much so that they justify Heidi's airheaded and offensive halloween custom with idiotic statements like the one above. This is my favorite one: "I'm [obviously white] christian and I'm not offended". Duh, b***hes, it's not your religion or culture! Why should you give a damn. SMDH
YouAreAnIdiot - Your continued inference that Christianity is a ‘White’ religion is rather misguided as it is a religion that spans the entire globe. In fact the highest percentage of Catholics in the world rests in the Philippines. Your continued posting of the exact same post over and over, with its reference to skin colour (that is not a typo by the way, That is how ‘colour’ is spelt in my country) suggests to me that you want not only to make this an issue of differing ideologies, but one of different skin shades. So for the record I am Caucasian and Buddhist. My first impression of the costume was “WOW!” and my second reaction was to look more into what Kali is. As a Buddhist I have no doubt that the Buddhist community would be fine with Mrs. Klum dressing as a Tibetan god next year or even as the Dalai Lama himself, a tribute I’m sure he would find very amusing.
Well said!
300 points
Yeah, I wouldn't be offended if anyone dressed up like Jesus. Would Catholics be offended if I dressed up as Mary? Someone will ALWAYS be offended by something. I think life is to short to go around be offended all the time.
who freakin cares. those people believe in bogus crap!
How rude! Just because you don't share their beliefs doesn't mean it is "bogus crap"
And yes, they have a right to be offended. That is *their* goddess. They value her and Heidi should have realized that sooner.
Show some respect for other people and their beliefs
Ahhhhh so does every other organized religion. Ahem, Christians believe that a snake spoke to Adam and Eve in the garden of blah blah blah... It's a little messed up that you would say Hindu's have out-there beliefs, to each his/her own but yeah, Heidi's costume was fantastic. ...and if Puff Daddy or whatever his name is this month can dress up like the Pope then whatevs
Yes & Jesus Is real ?
Have you guys noticed that you ALL assumed this commenter was Christian? What's that about?
yeaa ok...and is she was the pope catholics would be mad & if she was Jesus all Christians would be mad...and if she dressed up as a cat PETA would be mad...let's get over it. it's a costume. people take things a little too seriously nowadays!
lol if she was a cat PETA would be mad..
love it...and I agree with you
people need to RELAX
your PETA comment is stupid. If she was wearing a cat's costume nobody would get mad. If she would kill a cat a wear cat's fur that would be different, you insensitive prick. Do you understand the difference between a costume and a killed being for a sake of fashion and entertainment?
Do YOU understand the difference between being literal and being sarcastic? Please remove the stick up your *** and get over yourself.
No, YOUR peta comment is stupid..... and you just prooved her point how people are soooo uptight with everything and can't take a joke...... damn!!! Chill out people no one said killing animals was cool
Hey you sensitive prick! Did Heidi kill the God damned thing? ...NO, she just dressed up as one... for the sake of entertainment! so CHILL THE F***OUT!!
it was all in good fun...get over it. Everyone has become way to PC to have any fun anymore.
I look forward to seeing her costume every year.
It's called cultural misappropriation made worse by the fact Kali is a religious figure. It is completely obvious that some white people are STILL ignorant about other cultures/religions. So much so that they justify Heidi's airheaded and offensive halloween custom with idiotic statements like the one above. This is my favorite one: "I'm [obviously white] christian and I'm not offended". Duh, b***hes, it's not your religion or culture! Why should you give a damn. SMDH
yeah, its all in good fun, but think about it.. Kali is the goddess of destruction.. do you really think it's a good idea to embody destructive energy, even in fun. I'd say you're asking for it.
Kali is not simply the Goddess of Destruction. She is also the Goddess of rebirth. Without Kali's destruction, there would be no new and holy rebirth.
Awesome costume. She always has the best costumes.
7745 points
yet a child got sent home from school for being dressed as jesus. they are allowed to be offended.
300 points
xy mom - Really? Wow.....I went to Catholic school and we used to dress up as Jesus and nuns, etc. on Halloween and nobody cared. Of course, a PREGNANT nun was out of the question, but everything else was fair game, even the Devil! LOL. How times have changed.
It's called cultural misappropriation made worse by the fact Kali is a religious figure. It is completely obvious that some white people are STILL ignorant about other cultures/religions. So much so that they justify Heidi's airheaded and offensive halloween custom with idiotic statements like the one above. This is my favorite one: "I'm [obviously white] christian and I'm not offended". Duh, b***hes, it's not your religion or culture! Why should you give a damn. SMDH
How many times are you going to post the same comment? And why does it have to be white people? Ignorance is widespread.
Regardless of your color your creed, YOU(YouAreAnIdiot) have some serious anger issues that you may want to look into getting resolved.
They're all retarded! Heidi looks awesome, I love it!!!
How dare you call them retarded!~ What is wrong with you? First of all, using "retarded" as an insult is juvenile and insensitve, and insulting people who are upset over someone not showing respect to their religion is not retarded.
It is THEIR RELIGION AND THEIR GODDESS they have a right to be upset if someone casually dresses up as their sacred Goddess and flirts for the camera, etc. It is disrespectful to the image of their Goddess.
46856 points
It's all for fun but if some people get offended it would be better not to do it at all.
Visit my fashion blog!
It's called cultural misappropriation made worse by the fact Kali is a religious figure. It is completely obvious that some white people are STILL ignorant about other cultures/religions. So much so that they justify Heidi's airheaded and offensive halloween custom with idiotic statements like the one above. This is my favorite one: "I'm [obviously white] christian and I'm not offended". Duh, b***hes, it's not your religion or culture! Why should you give a damn. SMDH
OMG LOL LOL LOL LOL so annoying.
I was waiting for this.
I don't wanna offend anyone, but seriously, hindus have
no freaking sense of humor. They offend me by
even care enough to complain about a CELEBRITY's halloween
costume. Are they gonna whine at every single private persons
costumes to?
So ridiculous.
Yes, laugh at people who feel like their Goddess has been mocked for a cheap gimmick. Uh huh, mature.
Bloody Mary, how bout if i wore a costume with Mary breast-feeding Jesus, oh wait,is that possible, because isn't she supposedly a "virgin"...hahahha No she is not.
Oh my god, this comment DOES offend on so many levels:
1) You have obviously never been to a Hindu celebration
2) Humor is a personal issue--not a cultural one. In general, most religious leaders are pretty darn serious about their religion.
3) Most of all, your grammar is deplorable. Egad. If you're going to make such stupid statements, at least TRY to look smart so you have a leg to stand on.
man this is stupid to get upset over!!!! i don't know how many Jesus' i saw this year and even a buddah and it wasn't offensive at all!!!! this is just an awesome costume that was super creative, and people just need something to get their panties in a twist over. if anything it makes more people curious as to who/ what she is and MAYBE it'll get people to research her a bit....
Are you a Hindu? If not, shut up.
are you a christian or a buddhist? if not SHUT your PIE HOLE
The ignorance.. it burns
You should get that burning checked out. And shut up.
It's called cultural misappropriation made worse by the fact Kali is a religious figure. It is completely obvious that some white people are STILL ignorant about other cultures/religions. So much so that they justify Heidi's airheaded and offensive halloween custom with idiotic statements like the one above. This is my favorite one: "I'm [obviously white] christian and I'm not offended". Duh, b***hes, it's not your religion or culture! Why should you give a damn. SMDH
12135 points
I think it's easy to dismiss other's religious views as bogus or un-important, even for the sake of a COMPLETELY AWESOME Halloween costume, but I think we should tread lightly where others beliefs are concerned. I'm sure Heidi meant no harm by it. I saw it and thought it was a totally cool costume, but part of me winced a little bit and knew something like this would come out of it. It would be one thing for a follower of Hinduism to wear it - NOT that they would - but coming from someone who we assume knows nothing about the religion, it's a little disrespectful, IMO. And for the record, I really feel the same way about Jesus costumes.
30825 points
I am in complete agreement with every word of this. Well said, Momster. I see the effort and creativity put into the costume and think it's very well done but I think it is pretty controversial and it also made me wince a bit.
...oh ya...guess they can be offended...coz many were send back coz they dressed up like christ for haloween
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