Michael Costello says that he is still waiting for an apology from Chrissy Teigen after he claimed that she bullied him and played a part in hurting his career in the fashion industry.
In a lengthy Instagram message on Monday, the former “Project Runway” contestant detailed his pain and admitted to having suicidal thoughts. Now, he’s opening up again in a statement to Access Hollywood.
“I want to be clear – I do not wish ill on anyone. We are all works in progress and we deserve the opportunity to prove that we can do better. But progress takes time. We must show through actions that we have changed. After all, actions speak much louder than a 10 minute apology written on a notepad,” he said in the statement.
“However, nothing takes away from the years of trauma being bullied and blacklisted in the industry has left me. I am not out for revenge. I only wish to speak my truth because I have been silenced for so long,” the statement continued.
Adding, “I’m still waiting for Chrissy Teigen and anyone who bullied me to reach out to me. If they truly acknowledge that their actions are wrong, I welcome them with open arms to have a real conversation.”
He says that the bullying began when when Teigen publicly commented on his Instagram, in which she allegedly accused him of “being a racist.”
“She apparently formed her own opinion of me based on a photoshopped comment floating around the internet which has now proven to be false by Instagram and since taken down,” he wrote. “When I reached out to Chrissy Teigen to communicate that I was the victim of a vindictive cyber slander, and that everything she thought I was is not who I am, she told me that my career was over and that all doors would be shut from there on.”
In an alleged screenshot of a conversation between them at the time, which Michael shared on Instagram and Access Hollywood has not independently verified, Costello argued to Teigen that internet comment – which contained the N-word – was fabricated by a former disgruntled employee.
One of Teigen’s alleged replies reads, “Racist people like you deserve to suffer and die. You might as well be dead. Your career is over, just watch.”
Costello additionally claimed that Teigen’s take on the situation negatively impacted his work opportunities.
“Throughout the next few years, I would book jobs only to be pulled off last minute with no explanation,” he claimed, adding that he’d ” regularly get texts and calls from our mutual friends and colleagues” claiming that Teigen had threatened not to work with people and brands “if they were in any shape or form associated with me.”
Access Hollywood has reached out to representatives for Teigen for comment.
Costello said that the alleged bullying and blacklisting from Teigen brought him to the brink of suicide.
“So many nights I stayed awake, wanting to kill myself,” he wrote. “I didn’t see the point of living. There was no way I can ever escape from being the target of the powerful elites in Hollywood, who actually do have powers to close doors with a single text.”
“Last week, I wrote personal letters to my family and closest friends because I thought that taking my own life would be the best way out,” he added, saying he couldn’t “escape the false narrative.”
“I told my family how much I loved them, how much I cared for them, and just how sorry I was for my decision. Since then, everyone in my family has had me on a close watch against my will,” he went on.
Costello said he never shared his experience through the years because he was “living in fear,” but said he could “not be happy” until he spoke his mind.
“As a result of what Chrissy Teigen did to me in 2014, I am not okay. I may never be okay, but today, I am choosing to speak my truth,” he wrote.
WATCH: Chrissy Teigen Exits ‘Never Have I Ever’ Amid Courtney Stodden Bullying Controversy (Reports)
Costello’s post was published hours after Teigen returned from a social media hiatus to address her previous online bullying of multiple stars, including Courtney Stodden. (Stodden told The Daily Beast in a May interview that Chrissy would “publicly tweet about wanting me to take ‘a dirt nap'” and “privately DM me and tell me to kill myself.” Following the article’s release, Teigen apologized on Twitter, saying she was “ashamed and completely embarrassed at my behavior.”)
In a new Medium post, Teigen called the past few weeks “VERY humbling,” describing them as “a hole of deserved global punishment.”
“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 wrote in part. ” As you know, a bunch of my old 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?”
“I’ve apologized publicly to one person,” she added, referencing Stodden, “but there are others — and more than just a few — who I need to say I’m sorry to. I’m in the process of privately reaching out to the people I insulted.”
While Teigen has not publicly responded to Costello’s allegations, she did post an Instagram photo of a new butterfly tattoo, which was designed by daughter Luna, in the hours following his post.
She ended her caption by seemingly referencing her ongoing reckoning, writing, “Love you all to bits, I really do. Even if you hate me, I can honestly say I do not hate you. I send you love. How annoying is that! You must be soooo annoyed!! Anyhoo, love you, love you, love you. Here’s to the messes in progress.”
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