Jannik Kontalis (29) is pushing back. Exactly one week after the third season of “Kaulitz & Kaulitz” premiered on Netflix, the reality star released a paid podcast on Thursday evening in which he says he plans to lay it all out. He released a few excerpts beforehand. They amount to a clear takedown of the documentary series, of Bill Kaulitz (36), and of his public perception.
For seven days, Kontalis let the debate about him run. In the new episodes of the Netflix show, he makes an appearance at Bill’s pool-warming party for his new pool in the summer of 2025, where the two ultimately kiss in the water (Queer.de reported). Some people felt it recalled Bill’s brief relationship with Marc Eggers (38) in the first two seasons.
Kontalis outraged by the “Fun Boy” image
Tom Kaulitz’s verdict on the reality star in the series is harsh: “These idiots from German trash TV” are poor picks for his brother. Jannik may be a nice guy, but he doesn’t fit. Stylist Sara Alviti also feels reminded of Bill’s ill-fated liaison with Eggers and wishes Bill someone who wants to be more than a “Fun Boy.” Among viewers as well, opinions about Kontalis were widespread: he doesn’t take Bill seriously.
Exactly this portrayal hits Kontalis. “Why though? So, what did I ever do to you? You don’t know me. Why are you saying that?” he asks in his Instagram Stories directed at his critics. Then he flips the script and points to Bill’s own tells about his dating life. The singer himself said in the Netflix series that he was dating forty men at once.
“Every season has its scapegoat”
“And that’s normal,” Kontalis continues. “So this is normalized and regarded as beautiful, to tell every day that you’re somehow seeing a thousand people at once and texting — and then cry when you’re still alone. So sorry, I can’t take it seriously.” He says he was “really accommodating, nice” and would go anywhere, “no matter what happened.” And yet he has to hear from millions of viewers: “Yes, but please, dear Bill, don’t fall in love with Jannik.” His takeaway: “I don’t get it.” In fact, Kontalis believes the critique should go the other way: “Why doesn’t Tom say, ‘Bill, you’re not serious about this. What are you doing here?'”
He suspects there’s a pattern behind it. “There’s a scapegoat in every season,” he says. Kontalis criticizes that Bill’s stories about multiple simultaneous dates are celebrated publicly, while other men are portrayed as the “bad guys.” He also defends Marc Eggers: “We don’t know Marc’s story.”
“That hurts me the most”
He didn’t even know that the pool party or the Oktoberfest were filmed, Kontalis says. According to his account, Bill and Tom review each episode before release and have a say in the final cut. “And that hurts me the most, because he knows as well as I do that I never did anything wrong. Ever. Nothing. And yet he allowed me to be portrayed this way.”
In the end, the 29-year-old, who last year aimed to become mayor of Mönchengladbach, speaks with fighting spirit. “Mark my words. I’m the last one in line. In the next season there will be no scapegoat left once all of this is over.”
Most recently, he gushed
Before the new season aired, there was no sign of hostility. In early June, Kontalis — who previously dated Yeliz Koc (32) — told RTL in an interview: “Bill and I dated for about six months. We just love life. When we’re together, we have the most fun!”
Bill Kaulitz meanwhile continues his search for his Mr. Right, and in his own words often seems to stand in his own way. He says he’s drawn to the “forbidden fruits,” as he analyzes in his own show.
Kaulitz & Kaulitz Season 3
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