Chrissy Teigen and the perils of being an extremely online celebrity

AS the social media age progresses, it has become increasingly clear that nothing that has lived on the internet can ever truly disappear. Likewise, some people can never actually detach themselves from social media, announcing they’ll take a break only to return in a matter of days.

Chrissy Teigen, as she has readily admitted, is one such person. The model, cookbook author and television personality also happens to belong to a pantheon of celebrities who inadvertently stir controversy with some regularity. Being both famous and extremely online can be tricky business. While the internet remembers everything, the public’s object permanence is much more selective. Old posts are more likely to resurface the more prominent of a figure you are.

Teigen was propelled to online stardom in the early 2010s, when social media was even more of a lawless land and her devil-may-care brand of tweeting fit right in. GQ described her feed at the time as “high-grade funny, third-drink unhinged”, as written proof of her “assault of awesomeness”. The main appeal, the article suggested, stemmed from the fact that a gorgeous model ate ice cream and spewed vulgarities just like everyone else. She had nearly 500000 Twitter followers by 2014, a number that has since reached 13.5 million. In recent years, Teigen’s relatability has grown to encompass more meaningful discussions of her post-natal depression and pregnancy loss.

Regardless of whatever strides Teigen has made as a person, her old posts still live on the internet. And that unfiltered persona – which still exists – is the one landing Teigen in hot water now, in a world better acquainted with the implications of life online.

In mid-May, Teigen described her former self as an “insecure, attention seeking troll” and stayed off Twitter for about a month – an action spurred by comments from Courtney Stodden, the television personality who at 16 married the 51-year-old acting coach Doug Hutchinson. Stodden, who uses they/them pronouns, has since divorced Hutchinson and described him as “extremely abusive”, but faced ridicule when the couple wed a decade ago. They recently shared on Instagram that Teigen had joined in at the time, tweeting at them to take a “dirt nap” and, per Stodden, telling the teenager to kill themselves.

Teigen’s behaviour goes far beyond the edgy brand she cultivated and that was widely embraced by other Twitter users. Many would argue the behaviour was also unacceptable in 2011 (the same year she joked about Lindsay Lohan harming herself after seeing Emma Stone). And yet Teigen’s star continued to rise. GQ published its praise in 2013 (when Teigen also referred to 9-year-old Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis as “cocky”).

Social media could be especially deceptive in its earliest days, when the novel websites seemed to present an even playing field for all to log on to wreak havoc. But the workings of fame and privilege transcend in-person interactions. Punching down is exactly that, no matter the platform.

Teigen apologised to Stodden and the public before taking a Twitter break, and returned on Monday to share a Medium post about her “VERY humbling few weeks”. She wrote that she joined social media as a way to joke and connect with people all over the world, but that “in reality, I was insecure, immature and in a world where I thought I needed to impress strangers to be accepted”.

Since Stodden spoke up, a few others, including Project Runway designer Michael Costello and former Teen Mom star Farrah Abraham, have come forward with their own stories of Teigen’s bullying. Though Teigen hasn’t responded to them publicly, her Medium post includes a blanket apology to “others – and more than just a few – who I need to say I’m sorry to”.

The tide seems to be turning on Teigen’s past behaviour and, though the link hasn’t been made explicit, her entertainment career and brand partnerships seem to have taken a hit.

Teigen seemed to refer to the building backlash against her old tweets in the Medium post. “Life has made me more empathetic,” she wrote. “I’m more understanding of what motivates trolling – the instant gratification that you get from lashing out and clapping back, throwing rocks at someone you think is invincible because they’re famous. Also, I know now how it feels to be on the receiving end of incredible vitriol. Believe me, the irony of this is not lost on me.”

Among these lessons might arise another: It’s more than okay to just log off.