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Law Roach Responds to 'Hurtful' Priyanka Chopra Sample Size Comments: I 'Never Had That Conversation with Her'

Law Roach is opening up about recent sample size comments made by former client Priyanka Chopra Jonas.

The recently retired celebrity stylist and revered image architect Law Roach addressed the actress' statements in an interview with New York Magazine's The Cut.

After Chopra Jonas opened up about working with a stylist (whom she did not name) who made her cry over not being "sample sized," Roach, 44, said it was "a little bit hurtful" reading that in the press as she appeared to be talking about the Oscars event he styled her for the previous night.

At the kickoff of the 2023 South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival Friday, the Citadel star, 40, while speaking to Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke, related an anecdote that happened just the day before that rocked her self-confidence.

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"I've been told many things that are difficult to hear. In my job, the pressure is so intense, you can't really show the chinks in your armor," she shared. "Someone told me yesterday that I wasn't sample-sized… I was hurt and I discussed it with my family, and I cried to my husband [Nick Jonas], and my team, and I felt really bad about the fact that I'm not sample size, and that's a problem, apparently, and most of us are not, and sample size is size 2."

Roach disputed the story "because that wasn't the real conversation."

Priyanka Chopra Jonas attends the 2nd Annual South Asian Excellence Pre-Oscars Celebration at Paramount Pictures Studios on March 09, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas attends the 2nd Annual South Asian Excellence Pre-Oscars Celebration at Paramount Pictures Studios on March 09, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Unique Nicole/Getty Priyanka Chopra Jonas

"I've never had that conversation with her, ever," he told The Cut. "So again, it is her gatekeepers, how they presented what I said to her to make her feel that way. And if that made her feel bad, that wasn't — it was taken out of context.

"But I'm sure it was taken outta context to get her to be like, 'Oh, okay, I'm not working with him no more. He's insensitive to my body.' Which I'm like, 'How is that possible? I've been dressing you for literally pre-pandemic, and it's been nothing but great things,' " added Roach.

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Law Roach attends the Valentino Womenswear Fall Winter 2023-2024 show; Priyanka Chopra attends the Women in Cinema red carpet during the Red Sea International Film Festival
Law Roach attends the Valentino Womenswear Fall Winter 2023-2024 show; Priyanka Chopra attends the Women in Cinema red carpet during the Red Sea International Film Festival

Marc Piasecki/WireImage; Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images Law Roach and Priyanka Chopra

When asked by the outlet if he thought her agents were trying to make him look bad, he responded that stylists are often put in a precarious position.

"I think sometimes what it is with them is that they have an agenda and I need to be the bad guy because I'm the one who's dealing with the clothes and the body," said Roach, who recently won the CFDA award for best stylist.

RELATED: Law Roach Speaks Out on Celebrity Styling Break, Focusing on Himself for 'First Time in Nearly a Decade'

"I need to be the one who says, you know — and I'm not talking about her. I'm just talking about in general — I need to be the one to say, 'Oh, you know, be careful because, you know, the pictures aren't as beautiful because you coming across, you know, a little thicker than you used to be.' It is, like, so they'll say that to me or have a discussion with me but then take it back as if I was the lead in the discussion. And I'm not saying that's exactly what happened, but that's what feels like happened to me," Roach added.

The stylist then revealed how much he loves Chopra Jonas. "But I was really surprised that — I love Priyanka. When you are around her, there's only so many women in this industry that have that thing. I'm constantly inspired by women, and she has this thing that's very Old Hollywood, Sophia Loren — it drives me crazy," he raved.

"She has a twinkle, she has a wiggle, and I love her, like, even as a person," Roach added.

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After he announced his retirement last week in a since-deleted Instagram post, Roach told PEOPLE in a statement that he's taking "some time to step away" from the job and "focus on myself for the first time in nearly a decade."

"For me, fashion has always been a love, not a job. I've spent so much time and energy nurturing this love, and it has become my way of communicating with the world," explained Roach, noting that he doesn't "plan to walk away from it entirely."

Roach — who has styled memorable looks for Zendaya, Céline Dion, Mary J. Blige, Ariana Grande and many others — previously shared the news on social media. "My Cup is empty," he stated in the post.