If the early days of social media were like the wild west, Twitter was the most remote outpost with the most trigger-happy outlaws.
It was — and remains — the platform that seems to generate the most intense debates and the most vicious insults.
Like the rest of the world, Twitter has changed considerably over the past decade, and when judging someone’s tweets from 2011, it’s important to bear in mind that they were living in different times.
But even in that context, what Chrissy Teigen tweeted to Courtney Stodden when the latter was just 16 is totally reprehensible.
Teigen was forced to issue an apology on Tuesday after old tweets and DMs she sent to Stodden resurfaced.
The content of the messages — which were shared publicly by Courtney — was graphic and shocking.
Teigen fantasized about Stodden’s death and encouraged the now-26-year-old to commit suidice.
Teigen “wouldn’t just publicly tweet about wanting me to take ‘a dirt nap’ but would privately DM me and tell me to kill myself,” Stodden told the Daily Beast.
“Things like, ‘I can’t wait for you to die,’” Courtney recalled.
Some of the exchanges between the two women were previously exposed, but widely forgotten.
Others were only revealed by Stodden in her latest interview.
Teigen had only recently returned to Twitter following a short hiatus when Stodden went public with her bullying claims.
The 35-year-old media figure responded by going silent for a day and then issuing a lengthy apology:
"Not a lot of people are lucky enough to be held accountable for all their past bullshit in front of the entire world. I’m mortified and sad at who I used to be. I was an insecure, attention-seeking troll," Teigen tweeted.
"I am ashamed and completely embarrassed at my behavior but that…is nothing compared to how I made Courtney feel.
"I have tried to connect with Courtney privately but since I publicly fueled all this, I want to also publicly apologize. I’m so sorry, Courtney," she added.
"I hope you can heal now knowing how deeply sorry I am, And I am so sorry I let you guys down. I will forever work on being better than I was 10 years ago, 1 year ago, 6 months ago."
Stodden was gracious in her acceptance of Teigen’s apology, but she also pointed out a false claim in the tweet thread:
"I accept her apology and forgive her. But, the truth remains the same, I have never heard from her or her camp in private. In fact, she blocked me on Twitter," Stodden wrote on Instagram today.
From there, Courtney speculated about the motivation behind Chrissy’s apology, referencing a song by Teigen’s husband, John Legend, in the process:
"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 who are realizing her ‘wokeness’ is a broken record," Stodden continued.
So Courtney is still not thrilled with Chrissy, and frankly, we don’t blame her.
When Stodden married Doug Hutchison back in 2011, she became a target for widespread mockery overnight.
The relationship attracted attention due to the fact that Courtney was just 16, and Hutchison 51.
But instead of the celebrities pointing out that the situation appears to be abusive, they piled on Stodden and hurled insults at her.
Is Chrissy’s apology sincere?
Perhaps. But Courtney is not being petty for partially rejecting it.
After all, it was people like Teigen who made Stodden’s formative years a living hell.