Supermodel Chrissy Teigen
has tendered a public apology over her past behaviour as a cyberbully, admitting that she behaved like a "
troll
" to many people. In a statement posted on Instagram, the 35-year-old model broke her month-long social media silence, saying that the past "few weeks" were very "humbling" for her.
"I know I've been quiet, and lord knows you don't want to hear about me, but I want you to know I've been sitting in a hole of deserved global punishment, the ultimate 'sit here and think about what you've done'.
"Not a day, not a single moment has passed where I haven't felt the crushing weight of regret for the things I've said in the past,"
Teigen
wrote.
The model was recently embroiled in a major controversy after
Courtney Stodden, who is non-binary, claimed that Teigen bullied them many years ago.
According to
Stodden
, Teigen allegedly sent messages urging the TV personality to kill themselves over their relationship and marriage to actor Doug Hutchinson.
After Stodden's claims came to light, Teigen apologised to the model.
Reflecting on the controversy, Teigen said, "As you know, a bunch of my old awful (awful, awful) tweets resurfaced."
"I'm truly ashamed of them. As I look at them and understand the hurt they caused, I have to stop and wonder: How could I have done that?" she added.
Though Teigen has apologised to Stodden, the model said she is privately reaching out to "others" to say sorry.
"I've apologised publicly to one person, but there are others and more than just a few who I need to say I'm sorry to. I'm in the process of privately reaching out to the people I insulted," she wrote.
Teigen said her behaviour on social media was inexcusable and her "targets" didn't deserve it.
"I was a troll, full stop. And I am so sorry. I want to go a little further here, thinking of those I've hurt and friends I've disappointed," she said.
Teigen also admitted that she was "insecure" and "immature" online because she thought she "needed to impress strangers to be accepted".
"If there was a pop culture pile-on, I took to Twitter to try to gain attention and show off what I at the time believed was a crude, clever, harmless quip. I thought it made me cool and relatable if I poked fun at celebrities. Now, confronted with some of the things that I said, I cringe to my core," the model said.