Tim Gunn Reveals Why He's Not Returning For 'Project Runway' Revival With Heidi Klum
Tim Gunn is opening up about the upcoming revival of Project Runway.
The 71-year-old served as a mentor on the original series when it first debuted in 2004 and remained all the way up through season 16.
He and host Heidi Klum both left the series, and started their own show, Making the Cut, on Prime Video, which debuted in 2020 and ran for three seasons.
Now, it was revealed Project Runway is coming back for a 21st season on a different network. It was then reported that Heidi was in talks to return in some capacity, but Tim will not be returning, and he’s now revealing why.
Keep reading to find out more…
“Heidi sent me a text saying, ‘There’s talk about bringing Project Runway back with us, with you and me, and would you do it?’ And I said, ‘Would I do it? Of course, there’s not a moment of hesitation in me,’” Tim told People.
“So Heidi and I were texting and texting, and several months later, she sent me a text asking, ‘Are you happy with your contract?’ I’m a truth-teller. I don’t even mince words. I said, ‘Well, I haven’t seen a contract,’” he continued. “And she said, ‘You haven’t?’ No. So I called my agent and he knew things were going on, but he contacted the executive producers of this new show, and they said, ‘We don’t want him.’ And [my agent] said, ‘Well, he’s done 19 seasons of Runway, 16 with Heidi. The two of them won an Emmy together as hosts, and now you’re going to separate them?’ And they said yes.”
Tim added, “So I wasn’t asked back. However, several weeks after that conversation, they went back to [my agent] and said, ‘Well, we’ve thought about it and we’d be willing to offer Tim a small cameo in one episode.’ What do I do? Wave from a bus? As the designers are going into Mood [Fabrics]? Heidi comes to see me at the retirement home and we play croquet? So no thank you. And as Heidi would say, you’re either in or you’re out. And I’m out. So I wasn’t asked to join.”
Tim expressed that he was “initially devastated, then kind of humiliated,” but his perspective changed.
“I thought, how lucky am I to have had the experiences that I’ve had over the last 20 years?” Tim shared. “This is phenomenal. I stopped the boo-hooing. I thought, it’s really throwing hubris in the face of an angry God to mourn not being on this new show. So I’ve come to terms with it. Am I disappointed? Sure. And most of all, it’s about not working with Heidi, but we move on and things happen for a reason. I don’t know what the reason is yet, but it will be revealed.”
Tim Gunn also reveals how Heidi Klum reacted when he told her.
“She was really upset and she kept saying, ‘I’m fighting for you, I’m fighting for you,’” he said. “Which is lovely of her and nothing that I should expect. And I said, ‘Heidi, just take good care of yourself. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.’”
“I have her back and I’m with her in spirit always,” Tim added.
Find out why Tim and Heidi left Project Runway for Making the Cut…