Tim Gunn Was Enlisted by Heidi Klum to Sway Project Runway’s Final Vote Toward Mondo

During the early part of Project Runway’s surprisingly stellar eighth season, contestant mentor Tim Gunn would post candid YouTube postscripts to each episode; so candid, in fact, that Gunn eventually took them down for fear of offending his higher-ups. Now that the season is done — and the outcome, with Gretchen Jones winning over fan favorite Mondo Guerra, among the most controversial in Project Runway history — nothing’s holding Gunn back anymore, and he voiced his displeasure with the decision during a recent Kate Spade event in Pennsylvania. In fact, he says, Heidi Klum enlisted him in an attempt to cast a tiebreaker vote when she and Jessica Simpson couldn’t prevail over Gretchen lovers Michael Kors and Nina Garcia.

Watch above as Gunn works the stage like a consummate stand-up, dissing the influence of the finale’s guest judge (“Nobody mentioned Jessica Simpson�), revealing a rift between him and Klum (“I heard Heidi was very upset about [his comment calling the judges crack smokers]�), and calling out the ultimate futility of debating Kors and Garcia ("Nina and Michael are smoking enough for all of us�). Still, as he eventually acquiesces, “Mondo will do fabulously anyway, and Gretchen really needs the money.�

Project Runway’s Tim Gunn: I Tried to Persuade ‘Crack Smoking’ Judges to Crown Mondo the Winner [Wordsmoker]