Heidi Klum has returned to her runway.
But not everyone was thrilled to hear what the host, 52, had to say during the Season 21 premiere of “Project Runway” on Thursday.
After a Disney-themed challenge put contestant Antonio Estrada in the bottom, he had some tense words for Klum, who returned to the competition series after stepping away in 2017.
“Am I being ‘Punk’d?” Estrada questioned after they announced his fate. The model, who serves as both host and head judge, quickly responded: “No.”
After judges Nina Garcia and Law Roach gave their feedback, Estrada pointed fingers at Christian Siriano, the designer’s mentor.
“You keep blaming everything on Christian,” Roach noted.
“Christian told me his intern could make that dress in 30 minutes,” Estrada quipped as Siriano, 39, agreed.
“I just think this dress underneath, an intern could make it in 30 minutes. It’s a tube dress,” the fashion icon continued before Klum added that Estrada’s model “just looked like a big loofah.”
Estrada didn’t take kindly to the “America’s Got Talent” judge’s feedback.
“I’m a Gemini, and I don’t like people telling me what to do,” he explained. “And I was like, ‘You’re an adult, you’re going to listen to Christian, he’s here for a reason, he’s your mentor.’ And I did listen to him. That’s why I changed my look three times. You pushed me to be better.”
However, the competitor’s words didn’t sit right with the panel.
Roach, 47, called Estrada’s words “spicy” as Garcia, 60, echoed her co-worker’s sentiments.
“Antonio, you’re being so defensive. We’re just trying to understand your work. I don’t think there’s any reason to be defensive,” the Elle magazine Editor-in-Chief said.
“I think Nina’s right to call that out,” Roach added. “I think you’re being defensive, and also a little bit rude.”
“It’s okay to be criticized and to be let down by the criticism. But to kind of throw it back comes across as really quite nasty,” he went on. “I’m just letting you know, one girl to another.”
At the end of the episode, Estrada evaded elimination. A returning designer, Caycee Black, left the show instead.
Klum, meanwhile, initially hosted the show from 2004 to 2017. She won the 2013 Emmy Award for her role, alongside her former co-host Tim Gunn.
Klum was nominated nine times, with “Project Runway” earning dozens of nods throughout its time on air.
On Wednesday, the star gushed over coming back to her roots.
“It feels so amazing to be back,” Klum told E! News. “It really feels like coming home.”
“And then doing this with Law,” she stated, “and obviously Nina, we’ve known each other for so long, Christian Siriano. And just having these 12 amazing, talented designers on the stage, it’s just the most fun thing for me to watch and be part of.”
Roach himself was excited to work with Klum.
“To hear Heidi was back, it was like, ‘Okay, this feels good,’” he told the outlet. “‘This feels like history.’”
Garcia noted that not all of the competitors could take the heat.
“The competition is tight, but I also think the judges, we are really telling them honestly how we feel,” she told viewers. “And some take it well, some don’t.”
Along with a drama-packed season, viewers are in store for a slew of celebrity guest judges, including Tyra Banks, Nikki Glaser, Zac Posen and Sara Foster.
Also making an appearance is Klum’s fellow “AGT” judge, Sofía Vergara.
“I was so happy that she said yes, because she’s wearing, ultimately, the winning look,” Klum shared. “I said to her, ‘If you really hate it, I’m just gonna have to wear flats every time when I see you,’ because she hates being shorter than me. She’s always like, ‘Klum, take those heels off.’”
Klum and her former co-host Gunn, 71, both exited “Project Runway” seven years ago, with the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover star sharing a heartfelt goodbye at the time.
“After 16 incredible seasons, I am saying ‘Auf Wiedersehen’ to ‘Project Runway,’ a show that I was honored to host and help create. I am incredibly proud of the show, and it will always have a special place in my heart,” she said in a statement. “I am so appreciative of the dedicated fans, and most of all, I am grateful that we could shine a light on creativity and help launch so many talented designers’ careers.”
