Leona Lewis claims Michael Costello refused to dress her because of her body type

Leona Lewis at the Global Citizen Prize at the Royal Albert Hall in London 12th dec 2019 Photo by Cat morley

The thing about Chrissy Teigen is that most of the time, she targeted people who were already culturally disliked, or people who were considered “bad” or “freakish” in some way. That’s how Teigen got away with her sh-t for so long – who would believe Courtney Stodden over Chrissy Teigen? Who would believe Farrah Abraham or Lindsay Lohan over Chrissy Teigen? Who would believe the guy accused of being racist over Chrissy Teigen? So yeah, about Michael Costello, the fashion designer who accused Teigen of sending him death-wishes and blackballing him throughout the industry. He’s pretty problematic as well.

First, the drama between Costello and Teigen started in 2014 because he stole a design of Maxine James (who created Ellaé Lisqué). There was a comment (using the n-word) online attributed to Costello – which is what he claims was faked. That seemed to be one of the instigating factors for Teigen, and that was why Costello was trying to DM Teigen to explain things. Costello was also accused of using the n-word to Maxine James in person and assaulting her at a fabric store. Enter Teigen, who appointed herself as judge, jury and executioner and decided to tell Costello to “suffer and die.”

But that’s not all – Leona Lewis entered the conversation yesterday, following the unfolding drama of Costello’s IG. I’ll include the full screenshots at the end of the post, but the basic gist is that Leona Lewis was supposed to walk the runway for a charity fashion show in 2014 and she was assigned to Michael Costello. Costello was mad that she wasn’t sample size and he refused to alter the dress, then he ghosted her before the charity fashion show and she didn’t end up walking. Lewis says that incident made her feel awful about her body. Costello then responded on his IG Stories:

“I usually don’t speak on subjects like this,” Lewis began her statement Tuesday. “But honestly I feel that I have to say something as I’ve dealt with years of insecurity from it. I don’t condone any kind of bully behavior and I’m sorry for what Michael Costello went through…. I was asked to take part in a fashion show to raise money for charity. Michael Costello was assigned as my designer. As an excited young woman, I flew all the way to New York and was so honored to work with him because I adored his dresses.”

Lewis said that she was made to feel “very awkward and uncomfortable” at her fitting because the dress was a sample size, and alleged that Costello and his team “clearly did not want to alter it to fit me. This came as a total surprise because weeks prior I was told that they would make the dress work for me,” she wrote. “At the next fitting, the night before the show, with no explanation at all, Michael refused to turn up. He no longer wanted to dress me and he abandoned his commitments to me and the show which made me well aware that I wasn’t the body type required.”

The singer said that she was “so embarrassed and deeply hurt” by Costello. “Because I didn’t look like a model size, I was not permitted to walk in his dress. I had to sit in the audience and was asked by press why I didn’t walk in the show,” she continued, adding that she had to “come up with excuses as I was so humiliated by it all.”

“I feel like I was made to look as though I pulled out and was being difficult and as an affect [sic] of those actions I suffered a lot, both personally and professionally,” she continued. “The most hurtful thing is that it was to raise money for charity, and this went against everything we were trying to do.”

Lewis said that she was “left with deep insecurities” after the experience and has “had to work hard over the years to love my body.”

Costello responded on his own Instagram Story Tuesday, sharing a photo of Lewis wearing a red dress seemingly designed by him. “@LeonaLewis No dis no shade no hate, I love you and your music I still follow you but not sure what [happened],” he wrote. “I’ve reached out to you personally and I have 7 emails from the last 4 years and these past 9 weeks from your team and stylist still requesting looks last email 05/17/21.”

“Leona I am still a fan and I am not coming for you. But let’s talk about what you were feeling about this dress I thought you were happy,” he continued.

In another slide, he shared a photo of himself with the singer, saying that he was not sure what happened “between the middle men or what happen in translation.”

“Love you Leona,” he wrote, sharing in another slide a screen grab of an alleged email from Lewis’ team.

[From People]

I’m not going to adjudicate this. I think it’s more than likely that Michael Costello is a racist and/or he treats women (specifically women of color) like sh-t. I also think that in the particular situation of Maxine James, it was not helpful for anyone involved to have Chrissy Teigen barging in and telling Costello to suffer and die. You can think Costello was/is a terrible person and also believe that Chrissy Teigen has been a completely reprehensible person for more than a decade.

New York Fashion Week - Michael Costello - Presentation at Robert Miller Gallery

Model Chrissy Teigen wearing a Yanina Couture dress, Kallati jewelry, and Giuseppe Zanotti shoes while carrying a Tyler Ellis bag arrives at the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Staples Center on January 26, 2020 in Los Angeles, California, United States

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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132 Responses to “Leona Lewis claims Michael Costello refused to dress her because of her body type”

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  1. Wiglet Watcher says:

    So, is Leona doing this to defend Chrissy by saying Michael made her feel bad, she’s of mixed race, so he might be racist? Am I reading this wrong?

    Seems like Lewis’s dress got lost in the commotion that MC wasn’t prepared to handle.

    And MC didn’t tell LL to kill herself or that he would systematically ruin her career. This feel like a deliberate pulling of focus from Chrissy.

    • Cecilia says:

      I think don’t think this was particularly to defend what chrissy said. Just to remind people that they should be careful with who they give a pass to because clearly Costello ain’t shit either.

      • SnowQueenM says:

        Agreed. Caping for Michael Costello is a waste of everyone’s time. He is an incredibly awful person. And for everyone saying “why is Leona trying to minimize CT’s bullying…” Shes not, guys. Should she stay quiet on her pain preserve a narrative? No, that’s ridiculous.

        I think this is a case where someone racist and toxic, who has been known to bully other people, got bullied by someone else. It’s unfortunate that the experience didn’t make MC reflect on his treatment of others and grow as a person, as evidenced by his shambolic and avoidant response to LL.

      • Jess says:

        Agreed. LL gets to share her story.

      • Wiglet Watcher says:

        Jess
        She gets to share her story, of course. He did not handle the situation well when gowns were all selected for him. He should have handled it much better and not like an ego tripping jerk.
        But Leona had to drop in Chrissy. How was that part of her?
        It feels planted.

      • Anna says:

        Exactly.

    • Snuffles says:

      No, she’s just saying that she had a terrible experience with Michael Costello. Not excusing Chrissy because she clearly should have minded her own business (and wanting to be judge, jury and executioner is clearly a pattern with her. She even had a short lived Quibi series called “Chrissy’s Court” for goodness sakes!).

      Here’s the thing for me, it’s open season on Chrissy right now and people who have been wanting to get their digs in at her will come out of the woodwork. They all won’t be innocent victims. Many will be just as problematic as Chrissy is.

    • Haylie says:

      Or… he’s a racist, misogynist troll himself. That’s entirely possible. But I guess we’re attacking Leona Lewis’s experience as an indirect hit on Chrissy Teigen.

      Meanwhile, the racist gets to skate by and spread more of his own brand of nastiness.

    • girl_ninja says:

      So you’d question Leona but give Michael a pass for being an awful racist? I don’t understand your comment.

    • josephine says:

      Her dress got lost in the commotion? That’s not what she’s claiming at all — he can be a victim of CT’s bullying and a complete and utter a** himself. Sounds like he was completely unprofessional and a jerk — I believe Leona.

      • tealily says:

        Yeah what? I don’t see anything in any of this that indicated that that is what happened. Sounds like he pretty clearly chose not to provide her with a dress, and then no show.

    • Purplehazeforever says:

      No, Wiglet, she’s saying that her experience is MC is an awful person. You know the thing where both things can be true…that’s what happening here…Costello is an awful person & so is Tiegen.

    • AD says:

      Anyway Castello explained exactly what happened. He was supposed to loan the clothes to the charity, get them back and use them for his fashion show the following week or so. Which is what they were made for.
      The clothes were already premade for the models that were already fitted for his fashion show. None of the clothes on loan could fit her and that is not his fault. The clothes were not made for the charity but were on loan from him or he volunteered to loan them.
      And that does not excuse ms. Chrissy’s behavior. She is sorry I get that but that does not mean people have to be welcoming as a lot of youths have lost their lives for this same thing. Despicable behavior.

      • CJ says:

        So you leave this woman hanging at a professional event? You don’t take her measurements prior? You dip out and ignore her. That’s a garbage explanation honestly.

      • Grant says:

        That story doesn’t make sense given that he TOLD Leona Lewis and her team beforehand that he would make the dress to fit Leona’s specifications. The dress wasn’t for a model, it was for Leona.

      • Cheryl says:

        Confused why a professional or an up and comer would have this situation. No problem solving abilities? No willingness to showcase own talent? No people skills? No regard for working with other celebrities? No other mock ups of the clothes? I thought sending people down cat walks to showcase your design was the main point.

      • Yup, Me says:

        Nah. I call bullshit. My mother is a designer and he absolutely could have altered a dress to fit Leona Lewis OR he could have made her a new one to fit her measurements specifically for this charity event.

        CT may be an ass but clearly he is as well.

      • Lola says:

        So he didn’t bother to find out until the day before the MAJOR event, what her measurements even were?? He never even looked at pic of at any point from when he agreed to dress her until the day before the event? (She is clearly not size 2 or 0 and never has been)???

        Absolutely not, this doesn’t pass the bullshit smell test. And if this is what he’s saying that makes him look even worse, like a huge liar.

    • Des says:

      Nope, a music industry executive who was present at the event remembers this in great detail and she was talking about it as a blind item on Twitter before Leona confirmed it herself

  2. FeedMeChips says:

    I don’t want to live on an earth where Leona Lewis’ body isn’t good enough.

    • Katherine says:

      Exactly. My brain refuses to comprehend what could possibly be wrong, like, she’s an S and his sample size was XS or smth? Cause, like, seriously, she’s thin and beautiful and I can’t imagine anyone not wanting her to model clothes for them.

      • Snuffles says:

        I googled a 2014 photo of her. She was a little thicker back then, still beautiful but not “sample size”.

    • Driver8 says:

      Depressing isn’t it?

      • BothSidesNow says:

        Yes, and even more depressing that he has dressed Beyoncé yet, Leona was too much trouble because she isn’t as famous as Beyoncé. It seems to be a habit of some famous people like to abuse of those below their status but you shouldn’t do that to anyone! Abuse should be banned by all platforms, period! Chrissy is in a class all by herself, but given this revelation by LL makes you side eye MC!! She certainly paid a price emotionally for what he did to her, he should not have given her some excuse and responded with that bullshit answer, as if he is putting it all on her too!! Lewis is absolutely stunning!!

  3. Darla says:

    All dis and das stuff has me confused, so…whatever.

  4. Amy Bee says:

    Maybe Costello should have stayed out of this mess and his response to Leona was terrible. It seems both him and Chrissy are guilty of being bullies.

    • Wiglet Watcher says:

      Amy
      I’ll argue everyone has probably been a jerk to others in their private, personal and professional lives. That we may have also not realized the impact our words had on people and situations potentially flared up that person’s own insecurities.

      But MC had every right to be in this conversation as he has the receipts to show Tiegen tried to destroy him over a fake post. I feel for Lewis, but this feels like a calculated distraction from Tiegen to attack her victim for speaking out against her. Especially as Lewis goes out of her way to defend Tiegen. This was planned.

      • Amy Bee says:

        I didn’t get the impression that she was defending Chrissy but only pointing out that Costello was guilty of bad behaviour as well. I see nothing wrong with her doing that. Both Chrissy and Costello are terrible people.

      • Darla says:

        No, he does not have those receipts because no one has proved the post in question was faked.

      • EnormousCoat says:

        @Darla. I thought it was proven that the IG posts were sent from an account that seemed to target MC with abuse. I think it was a former staffer. But as we discussed in a thread yesterday, sometimes where there is smoke, there is fire and there do seem to be issues with BIPOC women coming from MC (his colleagues defense of the whole thing was that Maxine James stole their design and they posted the photo to call her out, which, come on).
        Also – and this is a general comment now, not directed at you, Darla – CTs behavior only wears the mask of justice,but it is more like vigilantism. Like Kaiser said, she bullies people who are popular to bully in that moment, but she also doesn’t let it go or try to encourage growth or healing. She seems more interested in the exercise of power to punish than she does in any kind of justice. People like MC will undo themselves, she could use her platform to promote BIPOC women. Not that we should not call out abuse or abusive behavior, but there have to be corrective actions too, imo. That’s how we get and do better for each other.

      • Darla says:

        I have not seen anything that proves it was fake, enormous, but perhaps I missed that. I do agree with the rest of your post, but I also feel like that’s exactly what’s happening here. As if this bloodlust towards Teigen makes bullying righteous. Isn’t that exactly what she’s guilty of? It’s to the point that people are FURIOUS that a woman of color came out and said, wait a minute, here’s what this guy did to ME, because they think it diverted the gang from Teigen even for a minute. There’s nothing constructive about any of this IMO. I just don’t have the stomach for this kind of stuff, unless the target is a Trump, none of whom I view as human beings.

      • EnormousCoat says:

        Hi again Darla – I’m starting to look forward to our morning chats! Just wanted to say that I 100% agree re Trump & I wanted to make that carve out myself! In fact, I would extend it to his whole family.

      • Wiglet Watcher says:

        Darla
        The fake post I referred to was the one proven by Instagram to be fake and removed.

        The receipts are the screen shots there.
        I do like how he takes the Meghan approach to following up with emails of her team requesting more from him. Or that he referenced that so I’m assuming he can prove it and Lewis team hasn’t disputed.

      • Horse Marine says:

        *rolls eyes* Well okay then.

  5. OriginalLala says:

    I mean it sounds like he acted like a asshole, body-shaming fashion designer, which sucks, but why is Leona trying to minimize Chrissy’s behavior? it wasn’t just against one person, she continually has told people to die and kill themselves…. if this dude is awful he should have his own reckoning, but Chrissy’s behavior has nothing to do with that.

    • Wiglet Watcher says:

      This.

    • Darla says:

      Maybe this is his reckoning though. I don’t think women of color, whom he appears to target, should be told to shut up and sit back and watch this guy restart his career when they know what he is. Nope. Nope. Nope.

      • OriginalLala says:

        I’m not telling anyone to shut up, I’m saying that Leona’s line that we should be nice to Chrissy and move on is bullshit. Both MC and CT are shit people for different reasons and both should be called out separately. Just because MC is an asshole doesn’t mean he wasn’t a victim of CT?

      • Darla says:

        I didn’t see anything from Leona saying that Chrissy is nice and we need to move on, but I guess I could have missed that as well. And to be clear on my views; Chrissy Teigen is very obviously not “nice”.

      • AD says:

        Read his response about what really happened. His explanation makes sense. The clothes were loaned to the charity. The clothes were already fitted for the models he was going to use for his fashion show. There was not enough time to alter them to suit her and that does not excuse what Chrissy did.

      • Wiglet Watcher says:

        AD
        Yes!

        Darla
        Lewis’s comments are being taken as a defense of Teigen on other sites and noting the women are friendly.

      • Anna says:

        Agreed!!!

    • smcollins says:

      Agreed. Aren’t we always saying there’s no “perfect” victim? Just because he seems to also be a terrible person doesn’t make what CT did any less despicable.

  6. Cecilia says:

    Long story short: they’re both terrible.

    • Darla says:

      Exactly, I don’t know why people have such a hard time with this. They always need the perfect hero and the perfect bad guy. Everything has to be black and white. I just don’t get that kind of thinking.

      • AnneSurely says:

        This. Blackballing someone from your industry for being racist is fine. Telling them to die is not.

    • Green Desert says:

      Cecilia and Darla – THANK YOU. Agreed fully. Some of the comments on these posts have been a mess.

    • FHMom says:

      This. Two awful people. We should just move on

    • Lucy2 says:

      Exactly. When I read about the incident with the other designer yesterday, I figured there was some truth to it.
      Whatever the situation, there was no excuse for Chrissy telling him to suffer and die. Had I been in her position, I would not have commented on it publicly or set out to destroy his career and bully him, just would have avoided working with him and told friends why.
      Nobody looks good here.

    • whatWHAT? says:

      Winner winner chicken dinner.

    • whybother says:

      I dont understand why some trying to pick a side tbh

  7. girl_ninja says:

    The last line…

    You can think Costello was/is a terrible person and also believe that Chrissy Teigen has been a completely reprehensible person for more than a decade.

    Final.

    • Sofia says:

      Exactly. Costello can be a terrible person but that doesn’t excuse Chrissy’s behaviour. And Chrissy’s behaviour doesn’t excuse Costello’s behaviour either.

  8. Neners says:

    This is why I’m over in my corner minding my business on this one. Seems like a lot of messed up moving parts to this story.

    • Jegede says:

      👍

      And another woman’s, Maxie J, experience with Costello was equally vile.
      https://www.instagram.com/p/CQJGKSVBh5T/?utm_source=ig_embed

      #nogoodsides

      • Darla says:

        If you believe her, then you can be pretty sure that post was not fake. I believe her. He tried to hitch his star to Teigen’s (deserved) downfall, and HIS victims said NO.

        Which they are entitled to do.

        So, a bully bullied a bully. And all of the victims have a right to speak. Not just Teigen’s victims because you hate her. ALL of them.

        Period.

        I’m done.

      • Neners says:

        Mmmhmmm. See? *sips mimosa in purposeful silence*

      • BothSidesNow says:

        Thanks for the link, very informative I will say!! So, MC is almost as awful as CT apparently! But CT should never be allowed to be on any platform, as she just a vile person, and will remain so. MC better get his ass in order too, for what he has done.
        I think it’s important for anyone who has been bullied should speak up and out, especially WOC that have to work three times harder than anyone else and still don’t get the accolades that they deserve, in general.

    • MA says:

      This. Sometimes everyone sucks in a situation and there’s no good guy. Not about to take up for this guy just to dunk on Chrissy

  9. Lauren says:

    There is also another person accusing him of sexual harassment. Gross and messy.

  10. Imara219 says:

    I’m glad Lewis is speaking her peace. It’s much harder for a WOC in the entertainment industry to get her due and respect. One bad word could permanently end their career. So Lewis can speak on whatever she wants to and since it messed up her livelihood she can address this mess. It’s bad form to tell her to shut up.

  11. Haylie says:

    Kinda weird watching people tell these WOC (Maxine and Leona) to be quiet about the harm this man caused them because it’s open season on Chrissy Teigen, and they’ll ignore a racist harasser to keep the bloodlust going.

    And by weird, I actually mean completely typical.

  12. Nuks says:

    Something about MCs post pinged off for me. I think it was the word elites multiple times.

    • MF1 says:

      I totally. I believe he was indeed bullied by Chrissy Tiegen but there’s something about the way it was written that made it seem like he was dramatizing certain factors to look like more of a victim.

  13. Ohreally says:

    Last I checked, Chrissy is attempting to be accountable and although she’s a messy troll on the hive level (eg Swift, Minaj or Bey hive), she’s not telling MC that he’s wrong and trying to have an excuse. The only one with an excuse is MC. He could have sat there and ate his food when Leona gave her experience to show that it is really not like anyone is innocent, but he came back with receipts to discount her side. Chrissy is a mess. A plethora of bloggers were about the same level of nasty as Chrissy so maybe everyone has some self reflection to do about how they spoke about others.

    • Maria says:

      MC sucks and needs to be held accountable as much as Chrissy.
      But, no, Chrissy is not trying to be held accountable with dramatic “I” centered apologies to the rest of us (why are we the ones who have to forgive her anyway?). She’s done nothing to apologize to the people she actually hurt (and by hurt, I mean the times she bullied a child and tried to get another to commit suicide – which as I have said before, can be prosecuted as manslaughter depending on the outcome), except for Stodden *after* Stodden stated she was still blocked.
      And her last Instagram post, the final words were “Even if you hate me, I can honestly say I do not hate you, I send you love [that’s fine]. How annoying is that, you must be soooo annoyed! [not fine]”
      She really doesn’t care.

      • Purplehazeforever says:

        Tiegen needs to works on the accountability part… Therapy tells you to focus more on writing stuff in the narrative of I instead of you. I spent years in therapy, they focus on you, rather than other people. That’s where she went wrong with her Medium essay. She first wrote it too soon. Three weeks? She needs to stay quiet for at least six months. Then make amends privately. Don’t write any public essays. Don’t go back on Twitter for at least a year. Focus on kids & marriage. She needs to stay quiet for awhile. Probably a year or more.

      • Maria says:

        after Stodden stated Chrissy still had them blocked* (correction to my post)

        And yes, I agree. But this was mostly just to try to salvage her deals/career.

    • Watson says:

      Ohreally: i second your comment on the self reflection. Totally agreed.

    • FancyHat says:

      That’s it in a nutshell. Chrissy said terrible things online but so did just about every other celebrity blogger. Those other people have faded away so no one cares that Perez Hilton was an evil fuck online. But Chrissy is still famous and people are attacking her in a frenzy online which is not all that much different than what she did back in the day

      • Maria says:

        Chrissy had a campaign to tell a trafficked minor to commit suicide. She continued this for at least a year through several platforms.
        This is beastly. And she has continued to tell people to off themselves in more recent years too. And she is not a celebrity blogger. She is a celebrity. She holds the power in almost all these situations.
        It is all bad and needs to be held accountable (and for what it’s worth Perez Hilton was in the comments of her apology Instagram post supporting Chrissy). That does not mean what Chrissy did should be minimized. If Stodden had committed suicide, Chrissy could have legally been charged (I doubt she would have, but it would have been possible).
        Reprehensible does not mean the same.
        If there is a more powerful/wealthy/influential celebrity sending her DM’s telling her repeatedly to kill herself then yes, that is equally abominable, but until then, no, people are not doing to her what she did to others.

        None of MC’s crappiness erases this.

      • Watson says:

        Fancy hat: Yup. I concur.

  14. Maria says:

    I’m glad Leona and the others have a chance to say their piece.

    Chrissy still sucks though.

  15. KW says:

    Sounds like a bunch of assholes living a high school drama except it’s not high school and these people need to gtfu. His response to Lewis is disgusting and patronizing. Sounds like he’s been getting away with bad behavior for a while, and he’s a full on racist too. Obviously his shitty behavior is a well known open secret. CT then thinks she’s queen of assholes (probably is and hasn’t left the high school girls bathroom mentally) and decides to involve herself, which is also problematic and incredibly telling on herself. All around these people are all sucking on their own bag of dicks and all have their heads up their own asses. How embarrassing that they are all grown up and crying about who is worse. Thank god I’m not talented, beautiful or naive enough to be in this asshole orbit. Sorry for the swear jar overload.

  16. lunchcoma says:

    Sounds like Michael Costello is horrible. I didn’t pay any attention to him before this, so hopefully he slips back into obscurity. I also hope that Black women are able to avoid working with him in the future, since it seems like they’re his usual targets.

    None of this lets Tiegen off the hook. Her behavior toward Courtney Stodden, a teenager mostly famous for being victimized, and Quvenzhane Wallace, a small child, was awful. Finally putting together a better apology isn’t sufficient. At a minimum, she needs to actually stop causing harm for awhile before she gets the benefit of the doubt.

  17. Green Desert says:

    This highlights the complexity of human beings, and by complexity I mean none of us are all good or all bad. We can be victims and terrible people simultaneously. Some of the worst parts of our culture have infected both Chrissy Tiegen and Michael Costello, along with all of us. Time will tell if those who accept accountability and say they want to change will actually do so.

    Waiting for someone to talk about how this is somehow John Legend’s fault.

    • Jules says:

      Nah, waiting for someone to now blame Leona for something.
      Legend is not responsible for Chrissy being an asshole, but it is fair enough to question his own morals for being with someone like her.
      And Chrissy continues to be waaaay out of control, next level compared to others here.

    • Haylie says:

      None of this is John Legend’s fault.

      I still think people looking at Chrissy’s behavior and questioning how he chose this woman to raise children with is fair. She’s been a not-so-secret bully for a very long time, and that’s before we knew she was sliding into people’s DMs, telling them to kill themselves.

    • Green Desert says:

      Again with my first point – people are complex. They have been together a LONG time, before we even knew about her. It’s not a defense of Chrissy’s atrocious behavior to posit that she’s more than just a bully. She is a bully, a person with major issues who needs therapy, and a whole host of other things, some of which are no doubt good. To me, bringing up JL is just a game of “question the morals of the black man”.

      These threads have me so exhausted. I’m done.

      • Haylie says:

        Sorry, but as a black woman, I do question his choice in a life-mate who is so vile. Chrissy gets away with many actions a black woman could never pull off without being called “ghetto” or without peanut gallery commentary from men who claim this is why they don’t date black women.

        At the end of the day, he’s a man who chose this woman and a husband who stands by his wife. As he should, but he’s not free from criticism because their relationship is not in a vacuum.

        He’ll be fine. So will you.

      • Green Desert says:

        Haylie, I guess I’m not done. 😂 I’m also a black woman. I get the nuance in your argument, but I feel like as Darla said above so few people are actually completely terrible humans. I don’t get bringing the partner, who clearly has seen a lot of good in his mate, into the argument at all. And I stand by what I said because I do think a lot of non-POC commenters have zoomed in on him without a lot of nuance.

      • Jules says:

        yea this is exhausting. I know nothing about Legend other than that he sings and he’s married to CT. YOU are the one bringing him up.

      • Haylie says:

        Green Desert, it’s perfectly fine not to be fine not to be done 🙂 I even completely understand what you are saying, and get the challenge of having these discussions amongst non-poc and frankly, non black people in general (because anti-blackness is cross cultural). I hope I didn’t come across as too harsh.

        I respect John Legend’s talent and what he has been able to build. But I do pick up strong “blerd guy” vibes from him and sometimes wonder if he would’ve entertained his wife’s trashy ways if she identified as black and couldn’t pass a paper bag test. Now I don’t know him, so it isn’t really fair to put that on him. I still give him a strong side-eye, but fully acknowledge that he isn’t to blame for Chrissy’s actions and rampant insecurity.

    • Mette says:

      No one is blaming John Legend. Sounds like you are trying to bait people to though.

    • Mette says:

      No one is blaming John Legend. Sounds like you are trying to bait people to though.

  18. TheOriginalMia says:

    These posts accusing Leona of shifting the narrative… Yikes. How is Leona minimizing Chrissy’s bullying? She’s saying Costells is a bully too. He made himself out to be this innocent little lamb, when he’s been misogynistic and racist. He has every right to tell his story about Chrissy and Leona has every right to tell her story about him. He made her feel awful about her body. He pulled out of the show without an explanation and left her to fend off the press. The incident gave her a bad name.

    • AmyB says:

      Exactly THIS ^^^^ As others said, Michael Costello can be a terrible person, as well as Chrissy for her disgusting & abusive bullying. Leona’s description of what happened to her doesn’t dismiss any of that. It doesn’t minimize what Chrissy did or make excuses for her behavior. A victim of bullying can be a terrible person too, but that doesn’t mean the result of the bullying behavior isn’t still traumatizing! And when Leona is made to feel terrible about her body – yikes! Another example of the bullshit women go through in today’s society. Not trying to drive the conversation in another direction, but ugh!!

  19. Otaku fairy says:

    Sometimes there’s more than one asshole in a situation. People can call out Chrissy Teigan and address the seriousness of her behavior, while making note of the fact that many taking this opportunity to go after her behave in archaic, damaging ways to women and girls as well.
    Like Candace Owens for example. Like she gives a crap about Courtney Stodden or misogynistic abuse in general, or is superior to Chrissy Teigen in any way. She was up there with Roseanne Barr shaming women for talking about abuse, calling victims lying h*** and weaponizing the white tears issue to cape for Brett Kavanaugh. Not to mention her homophobia and racism, her disgusting comments about Meghan Markle being suicidal, and enabling of Trump- the latter being her real motive for being mad at Teigen.
    In no way is she looking at what Courtney Stodden went through, or what anyone else went through while misogynistic abuse is being discussed, and reflecting on ways that she can stop participating in that, be less cruel, and try not to keep making the same mistakes. Glad that Daily Beast editor called her on it too.

    • Maria says:

      Oh yes. Trump supporters are a large part of the people criticizing Chrissy. Which is ironic since both Trump and Chrissy used social media to bully in exactly the same way (obviously Trump is scum of the earth and while I dislike Chrissy I would not put her on his level; but their tactics on Twitter were similar).
      But yes, a large amount of people who have no business going after Chrissy are. I admittedly have mixed feelings on that (probably not very admirable of me) since it’s part of how she’s facing actual repercussions but no, it’s not from good intentions and this should be acknowledged.

    • AmyB says:

      @Otaku fairy I literally cannot stand Candace Owens for all the reasons you said. You want to talk about bullying? She rips people all the time in the media – Cardi B, Chrissy Teigen, Megan Markle, George Floyd…the list is endless. But she manipulates it with her “conservative” spin on evils of liberalism today. She even said that the verdict of Derek Chauvin (police officer convicted of 2nd degree murder of George Floyd) was wrong, and the result of “mob justice”

      She is the worst! I cringe listening to her bullshit!! Yeah, like she even gives two shits about Courtney Stodden!

  20. Jojo says:

    I’ve seen videos of a guy accusing him of sexual harassment,a designer accusing him using racist slurs.Let’s see if he responds to their more serious accusations like he responded to Leona.

  21. Cocoa says:

    I an sick if these celebrities who are high off their a***** and think they are better than the average person just because they work for a reputable brand or a hugh clientele. I was willing to defend MC until these DMs of him come out. Good Lord, he is really awful but that doesn’t give anyone the right to tell someone to go and kill themselves, CT.

    OMG, the lack of marturity, vile and disgust of these people.

    As for Leona Lewis… when is she putting out new music? I am a huge fan and I miss her heavenly voice. But seriousness now, this is so sad that MC refused to dress her, I thought MC is about Body Positivity. LL is a toothpick (in a good way, I wish I have body like hers) you mean to tell me MC is that cruel not return her calls. Ugh…. I am sick of these people. I am so glad that I am not a celeb I will be blacklisted for telling the truth.

  22. ME says:

    Why was she still working with him years later then? I don’t get it. There are plenty of designers out there. Why work with a guy that made you feel horrible about yourself? In this case, I don’t know what to think or say…but in the end, it’s obvious that Chrissy is a jerk and a bully. There is more than enough proof of that.

    • Maria says:

      Leona seems to be a nice person and she probably wanted to let bygones be bygones. And this incident probably unfairly painted her as a diva and she probably wanted to do whatever she could to offset that, by still working with this person. But it’s not fair she had to undergo that.

      But yes, I agree Chrissy is still a bully.

      • ME says:

        Good point ! But this is why women need to speak up. Otherwise, the same thing will happen to another woman…and another…and another…

      • Maria says:

        I agree.

      • Anna says:

        Yes, and she probably knew that without some major fiasco like with Chrissy, no one would believe her. I mean, look at some of the comments here. When we’re right, Black women are not believed. People will make every excuse to get out of believing us. So she kept quiet, tried to deal with the pain she experienced from his bullying and racism, and kept it moving. None of that actually what she is entitled to or should have to deal with, and thank goodness she felt able to speak up now after carrying that for so long. On top of that, victims are taught to acquiesce to their abusers, and often victim behavior, in the absence of any space or ability to bring their abuser to justice and what is might cost to do so, will try to smooth over the relationship with the abuser, often attempting to build a relationship of sorts. People who are familiar with this through experience and/or therapy will know what I’m talking about. It’s a way to try to gain some sense of peace and control except that the abuser without being called to account will never stop being abusive and so the victim just ends up stuck in the same cycle. It’s important for victims to know that they have a right to speak up for what they have been through and that they do not have to nor can they gain by trying to befriend the abuser. Unfortunately, especially in the entertainment business world, this is a very difficult thing to navigate and usually one is doing so along or with very limited support.

      • ME says:

        @ Anna

        Awesome insight Anna…thank you !

  23. MerryGirl says:

    In Trinidad & Tobago this is what we call a “bacchanal”. I haven’t enjoyed gossip like this in a long, long time. Everyday it’s a new twist and turn to this story, Lord have mercy! Americans say bring the popcorn, the British say spill the tea, for me keep the bacchanal coming Kaiser, LOL.

  24. Lunasf17 says:

    Everyone seems like a d*** (except Leona, she always seems cool and she is a great animal rights activist and I’ve always respected her for that). I still don’t understand how Chrissy (at best a c list celebrity who married someone who had one big hit) had the sway to have jobs taken away from this designer at the last minute. I seriously don’t understand that! Like he was supposed to dress Beyoncé and then her team gets a call from Chrissy and they’re like well, Chrissy doesn’t like you so you can’t dress Beyoncé anymore. Why did CT ever have that level of respect or power?

    • Maria says:

      She has that level of power because of her spouse.

    • MerryGirl says:

      She got that level of respect and power because of her husband. And while we can all dislike her awful behavior let’s not get it twisted and call Jon Legend a one hit wonder. That is disrespectful to his contribution as singer/songwriter/pianist/musician.

    • girl_ninja says:

      John Legend isn’t a One Hit Wonder. Dislike Chrissy but don’t minimize her BLACK husbands talents or success.

    • Haylie says:

      John Legend is incredibly talented, even if his work is not your cup of tea. He’s not a one hit wonder.

      If Chrissy weren’t such a terrible person, her own work ethic would be completely admirable. Maybe it still is, but I can’t overlook the fact that she’s been a rather nasty Twitter troll for as long as she’s been on Twitter. Telling a 16 year old sexual abuse victim to kill themself as we all watched Courtney being abused in real time is next level sociopathy.

  25. FancyHat says:

    It’s weird how Costello is getting excuses made for his behavior which is way worse than Tiegen’s IMO.

    • Maria says:

      MC is getting undeserved excuses but that doesn’t mean it makes Chrissy look better.
      They are both bullies.

  26. MissMarirose says:

    Tom & Lorenzo sent a cryptic tweet yesterday about spilling the tea about former Project Runway contestants. They must’ve been talking about Costello. Which means, I guess, that his bad behavior is pretty well known in that circle

  27. Edith Bolton says:

    Who faked texts in 2014??? Dude DID that stuff to 2 black women!! I know it’s hard for many to listen to black women. Some are seriously struggling. But those on this thread casting doubt on Leona and the other woman don’t keep that energy in their “support” for Maegan Markle. Seems to this black woman that she is somehow “different” in their eyes and therefore worthy of “support”. Translation: it ain’t support and you ain’t here for black people. We see it. Chrissy Tiegen is immaterial in the looooong history of degradation and defamation of black women. Stay worked up about this clown designer and don’t look at yourselves.

  28. Cat Friend says:

    Leona Lewis is a beautiful gentle kind woman
    I would always believe her over someone from the toxic world of fashion
    That he treated her so poorly and especially when a charity is involved is not surprising at all
    She is purely reminding us all that these folks in twitter spats can both be at fault
    And despite Chrissy Teigans clearly cruel jibes at him he can be just as vicious when he wants to
    It’s such a swamp in these glamour businesses

  29. The Artist Formerly Known as Valiantly Varnished says:

    I said it on Twitter and I will say it here: he should have just sat there and ate his food. He wanted to insert himself in the Chrissy drama for attention and he got it. Just not the attention he was bargaining for. If you are going to call someone out for being a bully you better make sure your nose and hands are clean. Costello has been problematic for years. He was problematic on Project Runway. I believe he IS racist and a sizist. Chrissy has her own issues and I’m not disputing that. But this dude is an a-hole.

  30. SayWhaaa says:

    Right!

  31. candy says:

    Look, I am totally against sample sizing and LL is just gorgeous and is obviously very thin. But is it possible this was a misunderstanding? *ducks for cover*

    Fashion at the highest levels is art, I don’t know if it was even possible to alter the dress. Maybe he didn’t want to change his design concept, and he had been told it wouldn’t need to be? Sounds like she had some conflicting information from different sources. I wouldn’t necessarily take that personally, he might just have wanted it to look as perfect as possible and in his mind, altering to a larger size didn’t achieve that, having nothing to do with LL specifically.

  32. Caribbean says:

    If someone call out a vile person in a vile way, is it bullying? So, I am on Christie’s side in this case

  33. CHIMES@MIDNIGHT says:

    I did not realize Leona Lewis was a person of color.