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British singer-songwriter Leona Lewis has come forward with allegations of humiliation against American fashion designer Michael Costello. The claims come following the latter’s recent bullying accusations against Chrissy Teigen.
The 36-year-old singer took to her Instagram to claim that in 2014, Costello allegedly humiliated her at a charity event. Leona Lewis shared that she was made to feel “uncomfortable” during a fitting before the charity fashion show.
She wrote on her Instagram story:
“When I got to my fitting I was made to feel very awkward and uncomfortable as the dress was a sample size and he/his team clearly did not want to alter it to fit me. This came as a total surprise because weeks prior I was told that they would make the dress work for me.”
Lewis further elaborated that:
“At the next fitting, the night before the show, with no explanation at all, Michael refused to turn up. He no longer wanted to dress me and he abandoned his commitments to me and the show which made me well aware I wasn’t the body type required.”
According to claims made by the “Bleeding Love” singer, Costello and his team refused to alter a dress for Lewis after a trial of the sample piece.
Leona even mentioned that Costello refused to design the final dress and “abandoned” her right before the event.
The singer shared that she was not permitted to walk the ramp in Costello's dress and had to sit with the audience facing press questions all by herself.
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Leona Lewis calls out Michael Costello for publicly humiliating her
Leona Lewis’ accusations come a day after Costello allegedly blamed Chrissy Teigen for bullying him based on “photoshopped” racially inappropriate comments. The designer mentioned that Teigen ended up blacklisting him from the industry.
He also shared that Teigen's actions led to terrible consequences that made him "suffer from depression and trauma.” He said that the bullying even led him to have “suicidal thoughts.” Costello received a lot of support online.
However, his accusations against Teigen backfired when Leona called out the designer in return.
The “Better in Time” singer mentioned that although she is not “discounting” Costello's experience with Teigen, she thought it was right to speak up for her own experience in light of the recent turn of events.
“I’m not discounting Michael’s experience as that is an awful thing to go through and I wish him so much love and healing. I’m sure this will come as shock as I never told him how this made me feel. But the pot calling the kettle black in this situation doesn’t sit right with me. Bullying comes in many different forms. We need love, we need accountability, we need forgiveness, none of us are perfect.”
Leona also mentioned that the incident with Costello left her “embarrassed and deeply hurt.” She also felt insecure about her body following the incident.
“I was left with deep insecurities after this and I’ve had to work hard over the years to love my body. I’m so proud of how curves are celebrated today but back then it was a different story and there was hardly a representation for women who were not a standard small size.”
Despite her experience, Leona asked everyone to be more accepting of apologies. She said that people should embrace others when they owe up to their mistakes. The singer also defended Teigen’s public apology in her IG story.
“I know that his designs are catered to women of all sizes now, and I’m glad he saw light over the years. We all make mistakes, I know I have, but at this time I feel that when people apologize (Chrissy) and show sincere remorse and rehabilitation for their actions, we should embrace them and not try and kick them when they’re down.”
In addition to the latest claims by Leona Lewis, Costello has also been embroiled in several other controversies. Designer Maxie James has also accused him of making racially inappropriate comments in the past.
Following Leona’s claims, Costello came to his own defense. The designer took to his Instagram story to share that he was unaware of Leona’s feelings about the 2014 dress. He even wished to reach out to the singer in private.
Meanwhile, Costello is yet to give an official statement about the other accusations levied against him.
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