Leona accepts designer's apology after she accused him of bullying
British singer Leona Lewis has accepted an apology from fashion designer Michael Costello and agreed to move on from their bullying dispute.
The Bleeding Love hitmaker waded into Costello's attack on Chrissy Teigen on Tuesday, after the Project Runway star accused the model-turned-TV personality of threatening to blacklist him from the industry years ago, over an allegedly doctored Instagram comment in which he appeared to use a racial slur.
Lewis found his remarks hypocritical, as she claimed he had bullied and body-shamed her back in 2014, when Costello was assigned as her dress designer for a charity fashion show. However, the singer alleged she was made to feel “very awkward and uncomfortable” at the fitting because “the dress was a sample size and he/his team clearly did not want it to fit me”.
Lewis went on to claim Costello then cancelled on her, forcing the artist to sit out the fashion show and watch from the audience.
Costello responded to the accusations with an apology, insisting he was “completely blindsided” by Lewis' remarks, because he thought they had a good working relationship, as he blamed logistical challenges for the 2014 sizing issue. “It was nothing personal towards Leona. The plan simply did not work out the way we intended,” he explained in a statement. “I have always offered to make something custom and special just for her. I am always here for her.”
Lewis has since agreed to forgive and forget. “There are always 2 sides to every story and that's clear here but I choose forgiveness,” she wrote on her Instagram Story timeline. “Michael, Thankyou (sic) for your apology, I wish you healing and that you feel better.”