Before last week, we hadn’t even written about Linda Evangelista since 2015. In the past six years, there had been photos of Linda here and there, but she had mostly eschewed public life. We learned why last week: Linda has, in her own words, been disfigured by CoolSculpting, the noninvasive cosmetic procedure which (in effect) is supposed to “freeze” the fat away. She turned into a recluse five years ago after the CoolSculpting procedures had rare side effects for her. Now she’s suing the company behind CoolSculpting for $50 million. She posted an update on her lawsuit on Instagram:
Her attorney’s statement read: “On September 21, 2021, Linda Evangelista through her counsel Wrobel Markham LLP filed a products liability lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against ZELTIQ Aesthetics, Inc. (‘ZELTIQ’) for grievous injuries Ms. Evangelista suffered as a result of ZELTIQ’s CoolSculpting System.
“By doing so, Ms. Evangelista is standing up not only for herself but for others who have been similarly injured and ignored by ZELTIQ. It is telling that ZELTIQ disclosed the risk of paradoxical adipose hyperplasia (‘PAH’) to its investors in its SEC filings years before disclosing that risk in any of its aggressive direct-to-consumer marketing material.
“Zeltiq’s 2012 10-K warned its investors of possible ‘additional liability from claims related to known rare side effects such as late-onset pain, subcutaneous induration, hernia, and paradoxical hyperplasia’ and that its product liability insurance ‘may not be adequate to cover [ZELTIQ] against potential liability.’
“Remarkably, ZELTIQ’s marketing material and the CoolSculpting website failed to mention the risk of PAH until after Ms. Evangelista underwent the procedures. ZELTIQ failed to even include any general warning on CoolSculpting’s main homepage until February 2019.”
Not to make this all about me, but this is why I ultimately could not do so many of these cosmetic procedures. They say “oh it just freezes the fat away, no scalpel needed!” and then this is the sh-t that happens. Anyway, it sounds like Linda has all of her legal ducks in a row, and her lawyer knows what he’s doing. The timeline is interesting too – Linda is arguing that when she originally had the disfiguring procedures in 2016-ish, there were no warnings of worst-case-scenarios, even though Zeltiq knew the rare side effects by then. I think she has a case. A good case.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, IG.
If there were no warnings, that is so messed up.
It is a shame that women just can’t “age” and gain a little weight without feeling bad about themselves.
I was following a page “Botox and Fillers” on Insta, and stopped. Some of the work was frightening, others made me want to get stuff done.
Why doesn’t anyone ever ask men to “age gracefully”? Not dissing psl here. Just wondering out loud.
Because they are already allowed.
Societies even use language like ‘sexy silver fox’ or ‘aging like a fine wine’ to describe a man of mature age but you’ll never see any of those descriptions used for a woman. Men are allowed to age gracefully all the time (in some cases they are described as ‘sexier’!!) but women who age gracefully are described as old, unattractive and unsexy. For example, I would like to let my hair go gray but if I don’t dye my hair for like 8 weeks, I get commented on as ‘unkempt’ at work 🤔 none of my male colleagues of my same age dye their hair…
That is changing, I am happy to say. With more women rocking their natural hair instead of coloring it (I did it and could not be happier!), I think we are seeing a step towards that attitude dissipating.
Alpine Witch GO FOR IT!! You will look like hell for 6 months, but SO WORTH IT.
Speaking of, has anyone seen Lorraine Bracco at the “The Many Saints” premiere?? She stopped coloring her hair….and she looks SO BEAUTIFUL!!!
I’ve also decided to stop dying my hair. The lockdown was the perfect time to make that transition & I’m glad I did. The time & money spent dying my hair was a hassle for me. I’ve gotten compliments from women and a few men, but I’ve also had people guess I’m older than I am. So it’s a mixed bag. But overall, I’m happy with my decision.
I stopped dying my hair about 8-9 years ago. I just had some ash coloured streaks put in as the light auburn grew out so the transition wasn’t really noticeable. I’m so glad I did, it’s like a weight off your shoulders. And the interesting thing is, several friends of mine did the same once I’d taken the big step. You’ll never regret it!
@Pusspants yay!! I have gotten 90% compliments, many from strangers! My ex isn’t crazy about it, but who cares? I did it during pandemic too – tomorrow it will be 19 months since I colored my hair.
I’ll bet Linda would look amazing w silver hair. She could always pull off any hair color!
@PSL, Your ex can piss-off if they don’t like your hair au natural. I’m sure you’re rocking it!
One of my brothers told me it made me look older & I told him I didn’t ask for his opinion nor did I care what he thought. I also asked him if he would like to know what I thought about his hair (it’s thinning and he’s trying unsuccessfully to hide the fact).
I know it’s horrible and none of my business but I am very curious about what she means by disfigured.
I am, too. On her face? Neck?
Count me in, I am curious too.
Apparently there is severe swelling and scarring that bulges and can look like a stick of butter. This was a good read: https://www.andersonsobelcosmetic.com/blog/how-common-is-paradoxical-adipose-hyperplasia-after-coolsculpting/
I read on another site (NYT?) that she had it done on multiple areas, including under her chin. Then she had to have surgery to correct it which left her with visible scars. Off the top of my head, I think she also had it done on her thighs and back of the bra area. It was way more extensive than I originally imagined.
ETA: inner thigh, flank, abdomen, back and bra area, chin. Within a few months she developed “hard, painful, bulging masses under her skin in those areas”
Yeah, there have been pictures of her and she just looks older and heavier. Is she trying to imply that gaining weight is “disfiguring”????
That’s what I wondered — she just looks fatter. Is that “disfigured”?
Disfigured for a model probably. It makes sense that she never asked for anything financial from her ex billionnaire boyfriend Pinault (Salma’s husband) and suddenly asked for it not too long ago. So it was because she could not work anymore.
Umm Linda requested 50k a month from the biological father. This figure is for kids first 18 o’20 years and increases annually.
Likewise after Liz hurley made a big stink publically about not accepting money from her baby daddy she took it on the sly and kept it for her son as it was intended. She talked about it this year aftet her sons stake claim on Steve bings father’s carked it.
I think it has radically changed her appearance, at least in the face.
Her cheekbone structure makes it seem as though she’d age like the rest of the models (Christy, Naomi, Cindy).
I can’t see her face aging in this particular way unless a procedure messed with it.
Because she was already so beautiful, maybe her current face seems “normal” but I really think with her kind of cheekbone structure she’d likely look much better than what she does now if a procedure had not been tried. I could be totally wrong, but I feel people with high cheekbones don’t usually get “round” faces, even with some weight gain. There’s generally supposed to be an advantage attached to having high cheekbones. It looks like a bunch of weird fillers got stuck in her face instead of looking more generally lean like tall, high-cheek-boned people do even after gaining weight. She’s not Adele’s former size, so I don’t think her face should look like that. But like, I said, I could be wrong. I’m just comparing her against other people with that same kind of bone structure.
Those of you casting doubt on Linda’s claims, please do a Google Images search on “paradoxical adipose hyperplasia.” The fat deposits really protrude and are weirdly boxy and symmetrical. Some of the victims literally look like they swallowed a breadbox. If Linda’s disfigurement looks anything like that, I can totally see why she’s suing.
Especially if she had it done under the chin, as is being reported. On the body, it’d be embarrassing and distressing, but it could be hidden.
If it’s on her face, she’d be ashamed to go out in public, and that would be devastating for anyone, let alone someone likely to be photographed and gossiped about worldwide if she goes out with obvious physical changes to her face.
I’m so glad Linda is filing this suit to bring this to the attention of the public. I would bet this procedure causes more side effects than the company advertises. She will always be more beautiful than she realizes.
I’m glad she is drawing attention to this issue.I have always thought of her as the quintessential 80’s and 90’s supermodel.❤️
On a different note,I read the CB article on this last week and did not comment,but I am confused as to how she wasn’t advised of any potential unwanted side effects.In summer 2019 I went with a friend when she had a cool sculpting treatment done. I sat there with her as she signed a consent detailing the potential for ugly and serious side effects.Then doctor then came in and re-explained the procedure and the probable outcome(fat loss)and the potential of the disfiguring side effects.(PAH)
I find it hard to believe nobody explained the potential for a bad outcome to Linda. I am not saying she is not telling the truth I just cannot believe how a plastic surgeons’ office didn’t discuss the cons of the procedure. I hope she wins because it sounds as if she was intentionally misled??Idk or maybe incompetence on the part of medical staff is a better way to put it.
As a side note-my friend saw almost zero fat loss from cool sculpting and says she would not do it again-pricey and not effective was her opinion.
From the article above, it seems the timeline on warnings about side effects was:
2012: Investors told about potential side effects
2016: Linda gets work done and not told about side effects
2019: Side effect warnings added to the products website (though not clear when doctors were informed of side effects from company)
So that fits with how your friend was warned in 2019 but Linda perhaps wasn’t warned of side effects. I’m glad your friend didn’t experience any issues.
Any reputable aesthetic company does provide the info. I received it at my local clinic…. given the fact that she is a “rich supermodel” I can’t see that she would have gone to a shady spot…. I can’t see this going anywhere in court.
It says in the article that she was not told about the side effects, and the side effects were not added to the company website or to the promotional materials until 2019, even though investors were told in 2012.
so she actually has a pretty good case.
I did cool sculpting about 2 1/2 years ago. It didn’t make any noticeable difference, and I’m so glad I didn’t have this happen! I don’t recall any warnings like that or I would have declined.
I had a botched cosmetic procedure by Immode EmbraceRF or most commonly called FaceTite. The chin lipo my doctor talked me into mid procedure. I was left with the right side of my jawline flattened, a burn scar on my left jawline. Laxity on my neck which gives me a worm-looking neck and chin. I saw recent photos of Linda and she definitely had something botched on her jawline and chin. I see scars under her chin and the same familiar odd looking jawline as myself. Also, I am young. I have inherited my families classic British weak chin and jawline so it wasn’t about not aging gracefully. It is devastating to have your looks butchered by a supposed “non-invasive” cosmetic procedure. I have a lot of empathy for what’s she’s going through. I can’t imagine going through this on a public stage though.
I am SO sorry. Have you been able to have any corrective procedures? I know people with weak chins and skin laxity who were greatly helped by chin implants, not that you need one – I don’t know you or what you’re dealing with. I worry about aging but am the type of person who assumes that I’ll be the one with the side effects, LOL.
I had a botched cosmetic procedure by Immode EmbraceRF or most commonly called FaceTite. The chin lipo my doctor talked me into mid procedure. I was left with the right side of my jawline flattened, a burn scar on my left jawline. Laxity on my neck which gives me a worm-looking neck and chin. I saw recent photos of Linda and she definitely had something botched on her jawline and chin. I see scars under her chin and the same familiar odd looking jawline as myself. Also, I am young. I have inherited my families classic British weak chin and jawline so it wasn’t about not aging gracefully. I have a lot of empathy for what she’s going through. Though, I cannot imagine going through it on the public stage. It is devastating to have your looks butchered, especially when you’re told these non-invasive procedures are safe and weren’t properly informed of the risk by your doctor.
I did cool sculpting on my abs and under my chin 5 years ago and was not earned of those kinds of side effects. The treatment didn’t make any difference and was too expensive. Would not recommend it to anyone.