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Chrissy Teigen and fashion designer Michael Costello have been involved in a vicious war of words over the past week, with the row escalating to accusations of doctored DMs and outright lies.
Last week, Teigen made her return to social media after the Courtney Stodden controversy. The model and television personality penned a lengthy apology and reflection on her past behavior.
Then, former Project Runway contestant Costello accused Teigen of bullying him and attempting to sabotage his career to the point where he contemplated suicide.
Costello shared DMs that were allegedly sent to him from Teigen after he was accused of racism.
"Racist people like you deserve to suffer and die," Costello claimed that Teigen wrote to him "You might as well be dead. Your career is over, just watch."
However, Teigen then responded to say that the DMs are fake and questioned Costello's motivation behind claiming that the model campaigned to end his career.
Taking to Twitter on Friday, she posted: "No idea what the f*** michael costello is doing. He just released a statement where he didn't at ALL acknowledge how fake the dm's were, & now claims to have emails that don't exist," Teigen wrote on Friday, along with screenshots of a longer statement.
"Chrissy is completely surprised and disappointed by Michael Costello's recent attack, which includes fictional 'screenshots' from 2014 of supposed private messages that Chrissy did not send," the statement read in part.
Teigen's statement acknowledged that she did leave a comment on Costello's Instagram in 2014 after he was accused of racism, but that she deleted it after he denied the claims and maintained that they had had a "cordial relationship" online "for several years" since.
The statement also claims there are inconsistencies in the screenshots shared by Costello that allegedly show Teigen bullying him including a misspelling of her name and conflicting profile pictures.
No idea what the fuck michael costello is doing. He just released a statement where he didn’t at ALL acknowledge how fake the dm’s were, & now claims to have emails that don’t exist. So while he conjures those up (hopefully with someone more talented in fakes this time), here: pic.twitter.com/Y9FjJAY3Xw
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) June 18, 2021
"Chrissy has acknowledged her past behavior and the pain she has caused, but she will not stand for anyone spreading false accusations to further demean her name and reputation," the statement continues.
Teigen's husband John Legend also publicly acknowledged Costello's claims and defended his wife in a series of tweets on June 18.
"Chrissy apologized for her public tweets, but after her apology, Mr Costello fabricated a DM exchange between them. This exchange was made up, completely fake, never happened," he wrote.
Chrissy apologized for her public tweets, but after her apology, Mr Costello fabricated a DM exchange between them. This exchange was made up, completely fake, never happened. Receipts below: https://t.co/Toh2rjTXNS
— John Legend (@johnlegend) June 18, 2021
He added: "Honestly I don't know why anyone would fake DMs to insert themselves in this narrative, but that's what happened.
"I encourage everyone who breathlessly spread this lie to keep that same energy when they correct the record."
Costello responded again on Friday, sharing a statement to Instagram.
"The fact that Chrissy Teigen and her crisis team are working so hard, so strategically to come out against the DM's she sent me, and to downplay the comments she publicly posted on my Instagram, only proves that she is the same bully she always has been, despite her fake apology to the public," he wrote.
He also says he has "receipts of emails and confirmations" to prove his claims that Teigen went out of her way to "close doors to my career."
He also apologized to "everyone else involved in this messy situation" for "all the stress and trauma it has caused."
