Chrissy Teigen issues apology for past tweets: ‘I was a troll, full stop. And I’m so sorry.’
Chrissy Teigen has issued a lengthy apology following her cyberbullying controversy. She is known to poke fun at celebrities on social media, including former US President Donald Trump, and unapologetically claps back at trolls.
“I know I’ve been quiet, and lord knows you don’t want to hear about me, but I want you to know I’ve been sitting in a hole of deserved global punishment,” Teigen wrote in her Medium piece titled “Hi again.”
“Not a day, not a single moment has passed where I haven’t felt the crushing weight of regret for the things I’ve said in the past,” she continued.
In May, the model-turned entrepreneur came under fire for her past tweets attacking then 16-year-old TV personality Courtney Stodden, who was married to 51-year-old actor Doug Hutchison.
In an interview with the Daily Beast, Stodden, who has since divorced Hutchison, called out people in the industry including host Joy Behar, musician Courtney Love, with a special mention of Teigen, who allegedly indiscriminately attacked her on social media.
Stodden said Teigen “wouldn’t just publicly tweet about wanting me to take ‘a dirt nap’ but would privately DM me and tell me to kill myself. Things like, ‘I can’t wait for you to die’.”
is nothing compared to how I made Courtney feel. I have worked so hard to give you guys joy and be beloved and the feeling of letting you down is nearly unbearable, truly. These were not my only mistakes and surely won’t be my last as hard as I try but god I will try!!
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) May 12, 2021
After social media weighed on on Stodden’s revelation, Teigen publicly apologized on Twitter in May and claimed she reached out to Stodden privately.
Stodden said she accepts Teigen’s apology but belied the Cravings author’s claims that she connected with her in private.
Following the backlash on social media, Teigen’s cookware line was reportedly dropped from Target’s physical stores and retail giant Macy’s website.
In her Medium piece, Teigen, wife of Grammy-winning singer-songwriter John Legend, wrote, “As you know, a bunch of my awful (awful, awful) tweets resurfaced. I’m truly ashamed of them. As I look at them and understand the hurt they caused, I have to stop and wonder: How could I have done that?”
The 35-year-old model also revealed she is in the process of reaching out in private to other people, whom she has insulted in the past to apologize. Teigen has been accused of also bullying other celebrities like Lindsay Lohan, Farrah Abraham and designer Michael Costello.
“There is simply no excuse for my past horrible tweets. My targets didn’t deserve them. No one does,” she said. “Many of them needed empathy, kindness, understanding and support, not my meanness masquerading as a kind of casual, edgy humor.”
“I was a troll, full stop. And I am so sorry.”
Teigen recounted that she had “so much fun” when she started using social media, which she used to “snark at celebrities” and “try to get attention and show off what I at the time believed was a crude, clever harmless quip,” among other things. She thought her actions on social media, especially poking fun at celebrities, made her “relatable and cool.”
She also said she wrote the piece to provide context on the matter and that she is not portraying herself as a victim.
“I’m more understanding of what motivates trolling—the instant gratification that you get from lashing out and clapping back, throwing rocks at someone you think is invincible because they’re famous,” Teigen reflected.
“Also, I know now how it feels to be on the receiving end of incredible vitriol. Believe me, the irony of this is not lost on me.”
Banner photo from AFP and thumbnail image from @chrissyteigen on Instagram