Chrissy Teigen's team has called into question the legitimacy of Michael Costello's screenshots of Instagram DMs allegedly sent by the model.
Earlier this week, the 38-year-old fashion designer claimed Teigen had bullied him in his DMs to such a degree back that he began experiencing suicidal thoughts.
However, a rep for Teigen has since told Business Insider that the DMs shared by Costello claiming that the 35-year-old runway model said he "deserves to suffer and die" have been edited.
Business Insider also suggested that the images appeared to be altered after the publication found "found technical inconsistencies" in the messages.
The screenshots appear to be have been formed from multiple versions of the app and Teigen's profile over the years.
The messages, which Costello said were sent in 2014, were missing the blue verified check next to the model's name. This makes sense as Teigen only received her verification check in 2015.
However, what doesn't seem to add up is that the same screenshots contain purple and blue messages, which were only introduced to Instagram in 2020.
Business Insider also points out that the screengrabs contain a video chat icon, which was first available on Instagram in 2018. However, the same messages featured a profile picture that Teigen had used no later than 2016.
On Monday, Costello opened up about the alleged encounter in a post on Instagram in which he claimed Teigen left a comment on one of his photos, branding him a racist due to a photoshopped comment from a "disgruntled" former employee.
He then explained how he privately messaged the Sports Illustrated cover girl to tell her that the comment had been faked and that he was "suffering" from the ordeal.
Costello said that Teigen had "formed her own opinion of me" despite the "photoshopped comment" eventually being proven to be false by Instagram.
In the messages, allegedly sent by Teigen, she remained unsympathetic, reportedly telling Costello "that my career was over and that all my doors will be shut from now on." She also allegedly told him in their DMs: "Racist people like you deserve to suffer and die."
He explained in his Instagram post: "To this day, I am still not able to recover from the years of trauma I have experienced."
After sharing his emotional post, Costello was called out for his behavior by Leona Lewis, who claims he and his team "embarrassed" her.
He had apparently backed out of an agreement to dress her back in 2014 due to her figure not being "sample size". The designer initially fired back but has since offered the singer an apology, BBC News reports.
