Model Chrissy Teigen’s apology for alleged abusive behavior will likely fall short and not prevent one of “the greatest meltdowns in American celebrity,” according to crisis PR experts.
Teigen — a model, social media influencer, and wife to pop star John Legend — has been under heavy scrutiny in recent months, after it was revealed she previously told model Courtney Stodden to kill herself, opening the door for more accusers to tell their stories alleging abuse from Teigen.
“It’s easy to see that she committed one of the cardinal sins in American celebrity: She got caught positioning herself as one thing publicly when the opposite was true privately,” reported The Mercury News.
The paper quoted several public relations crisis management professionals, who say Teigen has been revealed to be a “hypocrite” and “sadistic” by this ordeal.
These experts added that Teigen’s lengthy apology in response to the allegations have fallen far short of what is needed for her to adequately address the scandal.
“These claims won’t easily be forgotten, and the public will only be harder on her and expect better from her moving forward,” said Ronn Torossian, founder and CEO of 5W Public Relations. “There are only so many times you can turn to an apology to try and fix your wrong doings.”
“The persona Teigen has built for herself in recent years place value on being real, and the public has accepted that she is synonymous with the truth,” Torossian added. “People know she’s aggressive, outspoken and unapologetic — so why would they believe she’s sorry now?”
Eric Schiffer, chairman of Reputation Management Consultants, added, “It’s the hypocrisy of positioning herself as a celebrity, in ways that are communicating compassion and enlightenment to social issues, but then behind the scenes, she’s acting in ways that are abominable.”
Schiffer went on to say that Teigen’s cyberbullying scandal is one of “the greatest meltdowns in American celebrity,” since allegations of Ellen DeGeneres’ toxic, sexist workplace environment came to light last year.
Like Teigen, DeGeneres’ fans considered her a kind and authentic woman, only to end up viewing her as a fraud after accusations painted a rather hypocritical picture.
But while Teigen’s fans may have once viewed her in a positive light, the left-wing model could hardly be considered a celebrity that was initially beloved by all.
An entire segment of America’s population — roughly 75 million people — have known Teigen as the “filthy-mouthed wife” of singer John Legend, who spent years attacking former President Donald Trump and Republicans on Twitter.
Thus, for some Americans, Teigen’s abuse scandal is not evidence of her straying off-brand.
In addition to allegedly taunting Stodden, Teigen has also been accused of bullying actress Lindsay Lohan and publicly calling Teen Mom star Farrah Abraham “a whore.”
Fashion designer Michael Costello has also claimed to be one of Teigen’s victims, saying she accused him of being a racist and said, “racist people like you deserve to suffer and die. You might as well be dead. Your career is over, just watch.”
Costello added that he suffered from suicidal thoughts for years, which he says stemmed from his alleged dispute with Teigen.
Teigen, however, denied the fashion designer’s claim in a profanity-laced tweet on Friday, calling the messages between her and Costello “fake.”
Retailers including Bloomingdales, Macy’s, and Target, have since parted ways with Teigen. The model has also dropped out of Netflix’s Never Have I Ever, and stepped away from the Safely, the home cleaning product line she launched with Kris Jenner three months earlier.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.