“This exchange was fabricated, completely fabricated and never happened,” the Grammy winner tweeted in response to accusations that his wife bullied the “Project Runway” alum.
This week, John Legend defended his wife Chrissy Teigen after designer Michael Costello accused her of cyberbullying.
Legend responded to the allegations against his wife in a Twitter thread Friday, claiming that Costello, a former “Project Runway” contestant, “fabricated” a series of Instagram posts dating back to 2014.
“This exchange was fabricated, completely fictional, and never occurred, “Legend wrote. Additionally, he included a link to an Insider post from Thursday in which one of Teigen’s representatives called the alleged exchange between her and Costello “fake.”
Insider’s article highlighted the presence of Instagram design and video features in the screenshots Costello gave that contradict his timeline.
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
The report said, “The screenshots appear to have been manipulated.”
The legend continued shortly after:
Later in the day, Teigen issued her own lengthy statement.
Honestly I don’t know why anyone would fake DMs to insert themselves in this narrative, but that’s what happened.
— John Legend (@johnlegend) June 18, 2021
“Chrissy has acknowledged her past behavior and the pain she has caused, but she will not tolerate anyone spreading false accusations to further tarnish her name and reputation,” the statement read. “Chrissy will continue to do the work necessary to improve herself as a person. She hopes Michael Costello will be able to do the same.”
I encourage everyone who breathlessly spread this lie to keep that same energy when they correct the record
— John Legend (@johnlegend) June 18, 2021
As of Friday afternoon, Costello’s Instagram account was set to private. The designer’s rep did not immediately respond to a request for comment from HuffPost.
Teigen came under fire this month after Courtney Stodden accused her of internet abuse.
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
The non-binary reality personality referenced Teigen’s tweets from 2011 in an interview with The Daily Beast, in which she advised the then-16-year-old to commit suicide.
Teigen apologized to Stodden for the second time Monday in a Medium article in which she called herself a “troll.”
“There is simply no justification for my previous vile tweets,” she added. “My targets don’t deserve them. None of us do. Many of them needed empathy, love, understanding and help, not my vindictiveness disguised as a form of casual, edgy humor.”
Costello came forward with his allegations about a day after the article was published, claiming he had “suicidal thoughts” when Teigen accused him of racism on social media and later blacklisted him in the fashion industry.
“I didn’t see a purpose in life anymore,” he posted on Instagram. “There was no way I could ever avoid becoming a target of Hollywood’s powerful elites.”
Later on Tuesday, singer Leona Lewis spoke out, claiming Costello made her feel “ashamed and deeply hurt” during a 2014 fashion show when his crew refused to alter a dress that fit her.
Costello apologized and stated that he was surprised by the Grammy nominee’s claims.
