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Chrissy Teigen and John Legend Claim Michael Costello's Bullying DMs Are "Fake"

Chrissy Teigen has addressed fashion designer Michael Costello's bullying accusations, and issued a statement denying his claims.

Last week, in response to Teigen's public apology for her past "awful (awful, awful)" tweets directed at reality star Courtney Stodden and others, Costello spoke out against the model, revealing how a misunderstanding between them drove him to thoughts of suicide. According to Costello, a former employee created a fake post to make it appear as if he used a racial slur, which prompted Teigen to call him a racist. When Costello attempted to explain the situation, Chrissy allegedly said "racists like you deserve to suffer and die."

In a now-deleted Instagram post, Costello shared their DM exchange, which Teigen and her husband, John Legend, claim is "fake."

On Friday, the cookbook author broke her silence over the controversy on Twitter. "No idea what the fuck michael costello is doing. He just released a statement where he didn't at ALL acknowledge how fake the dm's were, & now claims to have emails that don't exist. So while he conjures those up (hopefully with someone more talented in fakes this time), here," she wrote alongside an official statement to the press that says the "attack" from Costello includes "fictional 'screenshots' of supposed private messages that Chrissy did not send."

In a subsequent tweet, Teigen threatened legal action against Costello, writing: "I've taken it ALL. I've heard it all. I just beg for you to know the truth. Michael, you are now causing actual pain to people who are trying to better themselves. Enough. Or this WILL go further. Not here, but an actual court of law. And every dime we win will go to an anti bullying charity focused on turning this s- show into a positive."

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Hours before Chrissy's message, Legend defended his wife in a statement of his own. "Chrissy apologized for her public tweets, but after her apology, Mr Costello fabricated a DM exchange between them," Legend said. "This exchange was made up, completely fake, never happened."

He added, "Honestly I don't know why anyone would fake DMs to insert themselves in this narrative, but that's what happened. I encourage everyone who breathlessly spread this lie to keep that same energy when they correct the record."

RELATED: Chrissy Teigen Issued a Lengthy Apology Following Bullying Scandal

Costello refuted the allegations that he had faked his and Teigen's correspondence. "The fact that Chrissy Teigen and her crisis team are working so hard, so strategically to come out against the DM's she sent me, and to downplay the comments she publicly posted on my Instagram, only proves that she is the same bully she always has been, despite her fake apology to the public," he wrote on Instagram. "I'll say this again, Chrissy Teigen has gone out of her way to close doors to my career by making callings, sending texts, telling colleagues and companies that if I were attached to a project that she would not work with them. I have receipts of emails and confirmations from these individuals and companies."

He went on to say that this would be his final statement on the matter and that he was taking a break from social media.