In May and June 2021, Chrissy Teigen faced renewed criticism after past social media posts and direct messages resurfaced, especially messages directed at Courtney Stodden. Stodden, who is nonbinary, had become a tabloid figure in 2011 after marrying actor Doug Hutchison when Stodden was 16 and Hutchison was 51. In later interviews, Stodden described the marriage as abusive and said that public figures and media personalities had mocked, sexualized, and shamed them while they were still a teenager. Teigen was accused of participating in that online abuse by posting cruel tweets about Stodden and allegedly sending private messages encouraging Stodden to die by suicide. The controversy also expanded when others, including Farrah Abraham, criticized Teigen for past insulting tweets and questioned whether her apologies were sufficient.
Teigen first apologized publicly to Stodden on Twitter in May 2021, saying she was ashamed and embarrassed by her past behavior. Stodden said they accepted the apology but also claimed Teigen had not contacted them privately and had blocked them on Twitter. On June 14, 2021, Teigen published a longer apology essay on Medium titled “Hi again,” where she described herself as a former troll, apologized to people she had insulted, and said she was privately reaching out to those she had hurt. Her response used mortification by directly admitting wrongdoing, corrective action by promising continued self-improvement and private outreach, bolstering by emphasizing personal growth and therapy, and some minimization or contextualization by explaining the insecurity and social media culture that shaped her past behavior without claiming those factors excused it.
Chrissy Teigen Medium Statement, “Hi again” (June 14, 2021):
Teigen’s June 14, 2021 apology was published as a long written Medium essay rather than as a video. The full statement should be accessed through the Medium source listed below. In the statement, Teigen opened by saying it had been a humbling few weeks and that she had felt the weight of regret for past comments. She acknowledged that old tweets had resurfaced, said she was ashamed of them, and wrote that there was no excuse for the harm they caused.
Teigen specifically admitted that her targets did not deserve cruelty and that many needed empathy, kindness, understanding, and support instead of what she described as mean behavior disguised as edgy humor. She characterized herself as a troll, apologized, and explained that she had once used social media to gain attention and approval from strangers. She also said she was in the process of privately contacting people she had insulted, while recognizing that some of them might not want to speak with her.
Later in the statement, Teigen framed the apology around personal change. She wrote that she was no longer the same person who had posted the comments, referred to therapy, marriage, parenthood, grief, and self-improvement, and said she wanted to keep working to become better for everyone. She closed by asking for patience and tolerance rather than forgiveness and said she wanted the opportunity to own past mistakes and continue changing.
