Chrissy Teigen’s Instagram About Being in the “Cancel Club” Has Fans Conflicted

In May, Chrissy Teigen came under massive fire after Courtney Stodden recalled during a Daily Beast interview that they were heinously bullied by Teigen during their tumultuous teenage years. Back then, Stodden, who was just 16 at the time, made headlines for marrying a much older former actor and faced severe harassment from the public—tweets then resurfaced showing Teigen, then 26 years old, telling Stodden to “take a dirt nap,” “go to sleep forever,” and “I can’t wait for you to die.”

Yesterday, July 14th, Teigen wrote on Instagram about being in the cancel club. And, well, the reaction to her post was mixed, to say the least.

“Iiiii don’t really know what to say here…just feels so weird to pretend nothing happened in this online world but feel like utter shit in real life,” Teigen wrote. “Going outside sucks and doesn’t feel right, being at home alone with my mind makes my depressed head race. But I do know that however I’m handling this now isn’t the right answer.”

She continued, “I feel lost and need to find my place again, I need to snap out of this, I desperately wanna communicate with you guys instead of pretending everything is okay … Cancel club is a fascinating thing and I have learned a whollllle lot. Only a few understand it and it’s impossible to know til you’re in it. And it’s hard to talk about it in that sense because obviously you sound whiney when you’ve clearly done something wrong. It just sucks. There is no winning. But there never is here anyhow.”

Before signing off, Teigen said she just wanted to share “an honest moment” with her fans because “I’m just…tired of being sick with myself all day.” She concluded, “If you or someone you know has also been [canceled] please let me know if there is a cancel club reunion because I could use some time off my couch!”

Celeb friends responded with uplifting comments. Erin Foster wrote, “You’re not canceled for me,” and Brooklyn Decker commented, “I love you.” Paris Hilton added, “Sending lots of love beauty.”

“You’ve always shown me nothing but kindness & love & I hope you show yourself the same in return right now,” Tess Holliday added. And even Alec Baldwin chimed in with, “It was a hit job on you for some very specific reasons (more on that another time). It’s over when you say it’s over. A huge number of people love and support you.”

However, the update didn’t go over so well on Twitter.

Yes, being in the “cancel club” can’t be comfy—and it’s not supposed to be. Though there’s no right way to deal with being “canceled,” it’s pretty clear that Teigen should use this time to take a step away from the internet and reevaluate what makes her whole and happy.

Her multiple attempts at apologizing (first on Twitter, then in a Medium post) make it obvious that she’s perhaps too attached to her social media following and her that self-worth is too rooted in what the public thinks of her. Maybe she should instead be trying to mend her real-life relationships, starting with Stodden and ending with her relationship with herself.

One fan wrote a comment on her Instagram that Teigen should really take to heart: Chrissy you gotta find out who you are without the fans. You have to source happiness from your inner circle and yourself, not internet strangers. This is sad.

While it’s true that everyone makes mistakes, the public doesn’t need to hear from Teigen about this—not about how badly she feels, and how confused she is, and how she and her fellow “cancel club” members should form a support group for themselves. She’s owned what she said, and now it’s time to prove to herself and the people in her life who love her that she has grown and has changed. Only then can the redemption arc—whatever that may look like for her—begin.