Chrissy Teigen threatens to take accuser Michael Costello to court if drama continues
Chrissy Teigen came out swinging Friday against Michael Costello in the latest round of accusations exchanged between the model and the clothing designer, who claims Teigen cyberbullied him in 2014.
On Twitter, Teigen doubled down on her team’s position that screenshots Costello posted of damning direct messages he says he exchanged with the cookbook author are fake. Before making his Instagram page private Friday, Costello indirectly accused Teigen in a statement of waging a smear campaign against him.
“No idea what the f— michael costello is doing,” Teigen tweeted. “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.” She included a lengthy statement from her publicity team in the tweet.
Teigen also threatened to sue Costello, while discouraging her followers from lashing out at the “Project Runway” alum on her behalf.
After she was called out for harassing Courtney Stodden a decade ago, Chrissy Teigen has addressed her bullying drama in a new Medium essay.
“Please do NOT bully this man under the masquerade of defending me,” she continued.
“I just beg for you to know the truth. Michael, you are now causing actual pain to people who are trying to better themselves. Enough. Or this WILL go further. Not here, but an actual court of law. And every dime we win will go to an anti bullying charity focused on turning this s— show into a positive. I wish you peace and healing.”
After Teigen apologized Monday for her history of cyberbullying and acting like a “troll, full stop” on social media, Costello shared what appeared to be screenshots of the mother of two telling him he deserved to “suffer and die” and “might as well be dead.”
According to Costello, Teigen allegedly attacked him in response to a screenshot of a racist social media comment attributed to the designer. Costello has claimed that comment was a fake, fabricated by a disgruntled former employee in an attempt to frame him.
A member of Chrissy Teigen’s team says designer Michael Costello presented fake screen grabs as proof that she bullied him. John Legend agrees.
On Friday, Teigen’s team told Insider that the screenshots of Teigen’s alleged direct messages to Costello weren’t real. Teigen’s husband, singer-songwriter John Legend, also insisted later on Twitter that the screenshots were fake.
“Chrissy Teigen very clearly and contritely apologized for insensitive public tweets she made around a decade ago,” an official statement from Teigen’s representatives read. “She did not acknowledge nor apologize for sending private messages directing or encouraging self harm.
“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.”
While disputing the alleged direct messages, Teigen’s publicity team conceded that the model had posted a comment on Costello’s Instagram page “when he was publicly accused of making a racist remark,” but later deleted it after he “denied the accusation.”
After designer Michael Costello put Chrissy Teigen on blast for bullying him, singer Leona Lewis said Costello treated her similarly back in 2014.
Teigen and Costello have maintained a “cordial relationship” online since then, the statement says. And Teigen shared what appeared to be screenshots of Costello sending her complimentary messages over Instagram in the years since.
Teigen’s representatives then presented a laundry list of red flags suggesting that the so-called screenshots posted by Costello are phony. Among them: a misspelled account name, incongruous app features and color schemes that allegedly defy Instagram’s chronological evolution.
“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 said.
“Chrissy will continue to do the work she needs to do to be the best person she can be. She hopes Michael Costello can do the same.”
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
