The Rise And Fall Of Chrissy Teigen

Chrissy Teigen, once the darling of social media, has gone dark. The woman with the razor-sharp wit and annihilating clapbacks has been shushed following the trend of #cancelChrissyTeigen, and things don't look pretty for her. Instead, an uncomfortable silence has descended on social platforms as many question how complicit they were in making Teigen who she is, or was, or sometimes is. 

For those who have been living under a rock for the last month, the model, mom, and wife of John Legend is at the center of an ugly scandal that threatens to crush the image she painstakingly carved out over the years. Teigen built her life around social media and has one of the most powerful reaches on Instagram and Twitter, per Time. She's a lifestyle influencer extraordinaire and built her own food empire and personal brand by leveraging her fame. 

However, Teigen is now facing backlash and attacks for some awful remarks that she's made. Let's take a look back at Teigen's magnificent rise and fall from grace. Let us remember who Teigen once was, how she got there, and why what she said is such a big deal.

A cameraman scouted Chrissy Teigen when she was a teen working at a surf shop, per Vanity Fair, so her break came early. However, things weren't always peachy, as she described in an Instagram post. She wrote that, during the 2010 Miami Fashion week (via Daily Mail), she made less than $200 after her agency took their cut. She kept her fridge stocked by having "dinner with randos at Prime 112, ordering enough food to take home to eat for the week cause the fashion show money would disappear with agency fees." Her living conditions weren't much better, as she shared that she slept "in a two bedroom at the Flamingo with 5 other girls." She spoke to Vanity Fair about her early modeling career, saying, "I had no credit cards, I didn't have a bank account, and it just didn't occur to me to ask my dad for money." 

However, that same year, Teigen came into her own. Her breakthrough came when she was named Sports Illustrated's Rookie of the Year in 2010, and later landed the coveted cover girl spot. Her modeling career was taking off. Apparently, her days of scrounging for food were about to be a thing of the past.

Before long, Chrissy Teigen signed up for a string of reality shows. Thanks to her impressive social media following and modeling career — not to mention her being the wife of a megastar singer — Teigen was in demand. She joined "Lip Sync Battle" in 2015, and almost instantly, her over-the-top facial expressions were the talk of the town, as noted by a 2015 TV Guide article.

Notably, Teigen was also one of the faces of the short-lived "FABLife" before it was canceled after only one season, per Deadline. She also got her own show "Chrissy's Court" in 2020, and Variety reported that the series was picked up for a second season. However, Quibi then announced that they were going to shut down at the end of 2020.

In an interview with Vanity Fair in 2019, Teigen revealed she turned down a gig to host a late-night talk show. "It was just too much attention and focus on me," Teigen shared before adding, "It's almost like the more things you do, the closer you are to getting canceled." She then concluded with a weirdly self-prophesying statement by saying, "It's so scary to me — to have the world turn on you and hate you." 

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend became parents with the help of IVF, and after the birth of Luna, Teigen was thrust into motherhood. Sadly, things didn't go as she thought they would. In a candid interview with Glamour, Teigen explained that things started to go awry when her daughter was only a few months old, explaining that she was living with postpartum depression. "It was a sad existence. There were no highs. It was a flatline of life for a few months," she confessed. Teigen also shared why she didn't think she had PPD. "You hear these horrific stories of people not seeing their child as theirs, or wanting to hurt them, and I never felt that way. That's why I put off getting it checked as I hated myself, not my child," she admitted.

Teigen continued her story by saying, "I don't know why I didn't realize, as it was so obvious to everyone else! John was there when the doctor gave the diagnosis and, of course, he already knew. I didn't know it could sneak up so late or that it could happen to someone like me, where I have all the resources." She seemed to think that she was immune to the condition because she had help looking after her family. Of course, her reveal only endeared her more to her fans. 

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In the meantime, Chrissy Teigen's star continued to rise. According to Eater, she released her first cookbook, "Cravings: Recipes for All the Foods You Want to Eat," in 2016. She told the outlet, "I didn't want it to be a celebrity cookbook where you're not sure if they really cook or if they just put their name on something. I wanted people to know that these are really the recipes that we love at home." The book was an instant hit, and a second, "Cravings: Hungry for More," quickly followed. Teigen was rolling in dough after years of sharing her love of food.

Expanding on her success as a relevant foodie, Teigen sought to expand her brand and partnered with Target to sell a houseware line, per Philadelphia Business Journal. Macy's also stocked her range of kitchen products, per Marie Claire, and Teigen's fans, who had been with her through her journey since her time as a food blogger, supported Teigen's projects. For a model who once couldn't make ends meet, she had reached the pinnacle of her entrepreneurial career.

Remember when Chrissy Teigen and John Legend had trouble conceiving and had to go the IVF route (via Harper's Bazaar)? Well, the 2020 lockdown brought them a surprise pregnancy, au naturel. Even before the baby was born, they named him Jack and were looking forward to their third child. However, things went tragically wrong and he died after being born too early. 

Teigen shared some black and white images on her Instagram on September 20, 2020, depicting her and Legend right after their son's death. She also wrote a note to her son and followers that tugged at the heartstrings. "We are shocked and in the kind of deep pain you only hear about, the kind of pain we've never felt before," she penned, before continuing, "We were never able to stop the bleeding and give our baby the fluids he needed, despite bags and bags of blood transfusions. It just wasn't enough." In a message directed at baby Jack, she added, "We will always love you." 

Teigen received a lot of backlash after sharing the pics, and she was accused of using her son's death to garner media attention. However, publications like Vice pointed out that many parents find comfort in photographs of their stillborn children. A few months later, Teigen threw her weight behind a Resolve "Fertility Out Loud" campaign, per Insider. 

Courtney Stodden was just 16 years old when Chrissy Teigen bullied them online, sending horrible messages. Stodden, who identifies as non-binary, shared the shocking story with The Daily Beast and revealed just what Teigen said to them. They said, "[Chrissy] wouldn't just publicly tweet about wanting me to take 'a dirt nap' but would privately DM me and tell me to kill myself. Things like, 'I can't wait for you to die.'" If that wasn't enough, Stodden alleged that she received tweets and direct messages until just a few years earlier. They pointed out (via InTouch), "It's so damaging when you have someone like Chrissy Teigen bullying children." 

For those who need a recap, Stodden rose to fame after marrying 50-year-old actor Doug Hutchison in 2011. Their parents consented that they marry a man more than three times their age. Stodden told The Daily Beast how they were mocked and ridiculed while only a child. Instead of the world criticizing Hutchinson — today Stodden alleges he groomed and abused them — people attacked Stodden. They named a few celebs who shamed them including Joy Behar, Courtney Love, Dr. Drew Pinsky, and Jason Alexander. Notably, Dr. Drew gave Stodden a breast ultrasound to see if their breasts were real and Alexander pushed at them with a cellphone in a Funny or Die skit. Teigen also seemingly jumped on the bandwagon and blamed Stodden for their situation.

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With her back seemingly to the wall, Chrissy Teigen publicly apologized to Courtney Stodden via Twitter. "Not a lot of people are lucky enough to be held accountable for all their past bulls**t in front of the entire world," she started the message. She continued, "I'm mortified and sad at who I used to be. I was an insecure, attention seeking troll. I am ashamed and completely embarrassed at my behavior, but that is nothing compared to how I made Courtney feel." She shared that she wanted to provide a happy place on the internet and felt bad to have disappointed her fans. She also vowed to do better in the future. 

Teigen also added that she had tried to reach out to Stodden privately but felt she also needed to make it right in public. She stated, "I'm so sorry, Courtney. I hope you can heal now knowing how deeply sorry I am."

Stodden promptly accepted the apology on Instagram. "I accept her apology and forgive her," they graciously said. However, they alleged that Teigen had never reached out to them in private, and they had their reservations about Teigen's sincerity, noting Teigen had blocked them on Twitter. "All of me wants to believe this is a sincere apology, but it feels like a public attempt to save her partnerships with Target and other brands ..."

Both Chrissy Teigen and John Legend have built a family brand over the years. Thanks to their frequent social media updates and candid interviews, their fans feel as if they know them. Now that Teigen has fallen from grace, will she be able to rebuild her image again? And has Legend's image also been tarnished? The Post (via Page Six) reported that Teigen has not been handling the fallout very well. "She's so raw and vulnerable ... I don't know if she can come back to social media," a source claimed.

Vrbo is currently airing a commercial featuring Teigen, Legend, and their family. Reportedly, the brand felt there were "no issues," but branding expert Mark Borkowski was surprised by the move. He told Page Six, "No one tolerates the idea of a bully," and continued, "It's all about authenticity. If you're found out not to be what you [claim] to be, that always leads to an Icarus moment and everything comes crashing down."

As far as Legend is concerned, it seems as if he may be safe from the fallout. An NBC Universal senior producer told The Post, "NBC loves and supports John. It is a separate relationship. I feel bad for Chrissy — what a mess." As the conversation continues, here's to hoping that genuine conversations take place and that the real healing can begin.