Chrissy Teigen’s team is claiming that the screenshots fashion designer Michael Costello shared of an alleged conversation they had, are not real.
But Michael is not staying quiet over Chrissy’s new claims.
The fashion designer’s team is slamming the new accusations in a statement to Access Hollywood, “The fact that Chrissy Teigen’s team is desperately trying to prove the DM’s are fake and attempts to discredit Michael Costello, a victim of trauma and bullying by Chrissy Teigen both online and offline, confirms that she remains the same bully, despite her public apology.”
A rep for Michael Costello said, “When a victim feels like their only recourse is to speak up, and the abuser’s first move is to discredit the victim and shame him publicly, this perpetrates victim-blaming and it costs lives. Seven years ago, when Michael Costello presented Chrissy Teigen with evidence directly that the alleged racist comment she saw was fake, she refused to believe him. Now, her team is quick to discredit Michael’s character in an attempt to salvage her image and partnerships negatively impacted by her decade-long problematic behavior.”
Adding, “Beyond the DM’s and the public comments Chrissy Teigen left on Michael Costello’s Instagram for the world to see, there are emails and documents unreleased to the public which confirms Chrissy Teigen has gone beyond social media to blacklist Michael Costello offline, making him endure over seven years of suffering – mentally and financially.”
“Michael Costello is only one of the many victims who are living with long-lasting, unhealed traumas from Chrissy Teigen’s decade-long bullying behavior,” the statement continued. “Chrissy Teigen’s team has yet to reach out to us, or any of her other victims.”
Sources close to the cookbook author tell Access Hollywood on Friday that they believe the shocking direct messages Michael posted to his Instagram story on June 14, are indeed fake.
Michael claimed that he lost work opportunities because of Chrissy and said that the alleged bullying and blacklisting in the industry brought him to the brink of suicide.
Business insider reported on Friday that there are allegedly some inconsistencies between the direct messages in question and Instagram’s interface.
Michael’s claim of bullying came after Chrissy posted a lengthy apology on Monday for her past behavior on social media and how she treated other celebrities. Her apology came after she took a social media break for a few weeks following accusations which claimed that she was cyberbullying multiple other stars, including Courtney Stodden.
Hi again https://t.co/vtAHcVLWNA
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) June 14, 2021
The former “Project Runway” contestant first detailed his pain and admitted to having suicidal thoughts on Monday in a length Instagram post. He spoke to Access Hollywood in a statement on Tuesday saying that he was still waiting for an apology from the former model.
“I want to be clear – I do not wish ill on anyone. We are all works in progress and we deserve the opportunity to prove that we can do better. But progress takes time. We must show through actions that we have changed. After all, actions speak much louder than a 10 minute apology written on a notepad,” he said in the statement.
“However, nothing takes away from the years of trauma being bullied and blacklisted in the industry has left me. I am not out for revenge. I only wish to speak my truth because I have been silenced for so long,” the statement continued.
Adding, “I’m still waiting for Chrissy Teigen and anyone who bullied me to reach out to me. If they truly acknowledge that their actions are wrong, I welcome them with open arms to have a real conversation.
He says that the bullying began when Teigen publicly commented on his Instagram, in which she allegedly accused him of “being a racist.”
“She apparently formed her own opinion of me based on a photoshopped comment floating around the internet which has now proven to be false by Instagram and since taken down,” he wrote. “When I reached out to Chrissy Teigen to communicate that I was the victim of a vindictive cyber slander, and that everything she thought I was is not who I am, she told me that my career was over and that all doors would be shut from there on.”
In an alleged screenshot of a conversation between them at the time, which Michael shared on Instagram and Access Hollywood has not independently verified, Costello argued to Teigen that internet comment – which contained the N-word – was fabricated by a former disgruntled employee.
One of Teigen’s alleged replies reads, “Racist people like you deserve to suffer and die. You might as well be dead. Your career is over, just watch.”
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