There’s one thing we can all agree on about Chrissy Teigen: love her or hate her, she’s never been one to shy away from controversy. This is the woman who once called Donald Trump a “p*ssy ass b*tch”, after all.
Some Twitter users, however, evidently felt that Teigen had gone too far. Specifically, the model had posted a picture of a horse with the explanation that “My therapist says I need something that I do for just me, as I have absolutely nothing currently lol.” To this, one person responded that “A lot of people are unemployed and struggling to feed their family in the midst of a pandemic. Maybe now isn’t a great time to say you “have nothing” so you bought a horse to entertain yourself.” Later, Teigen mentioned her family’s “happy packing” to travel to Washington D.C. where her husband, John Legend, would perform at “Celebrating America”, the pandemic-friendly televised replacement for traditional Inauguration Day celebrations. In response, someone angrily noted D.C.’s travel restrictions and heightened security, claiming that it was tone-deaf of Teigen to share her excitement or indeed to be travelling at all. (She also jokingly agreed with a tweet that some saw as having classist and ableist implications. However, my non-existent understanding of either issue is rivalled only by that of a certain orange senior citizen, so I won’t be commenting on this any further).
“her detractors’ anger is understandable”
A lot of people are unemployed and struggling to feed their family in the midst of a pandemic. Maybe now isn't a great time to say you "have nothing" so you bought a horse to entertain yourself.
— Lady Long Limbs (@ladylonglimb) January 17, 2021
To an extent, her detractors’ anger is understandable: it’s not inherently wrong to disagree with those travel plans when all but the most essential trips are strongly advised against, for obvious reasons. And of course, seeing the rich and famous showing off their luxury lifestyles can be galling at the best of times. In the midst of a pandemic, which has seen many losing everything from their incomes to their loved ones —with low-income households and marginalised groups being the worst hit — it’s just plain insulting.
Yet flaunting her wealth seems to have been the last thing on Teigen’s mind. Firstly, she was paying for riding lessons, not buying the horse. Secondly, her claim that she had “absolutely nothing” was not an attempt to downplay her bank balance. It just meant “nothing [“that I do for just me”]”. And most importantly, as Teigen herself pointed out, she had a very good reason for needing a hobby: “Cause I lost a baby. And I’m figuring myself out.” This was back in September last year when Teigen and Legend’s third child was stillborn. The couple documented the experience on social media and were swiftly rebuked by some for ‘oversharing’, just as Meghan Markle was after writing about her experience of miscarriage in the New York Times.
a lot of u really misinterpreted this tweet and I guess that’s on me. I didn’t say I have nothing, I said I have nothing I do for just me. A convo with a therapist. A hobby. Cause I lost a baby. And I’m figuring myself out. And i didn’t buy a horse. But oh my god, what if I did? https://t.co/AYKI37VicV
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) January 18, 2021
Yes, both women are immensely privileged, sheltered from a lot of the harsh realities that most of us just have to deal with. And yes, that probably includes enough money for infinite sessions with the best therapists they can find. But having easy access to professional help with trauma doesn’t lessen the initial pain of that trauma. And baby loss is one of those traumatic experiences that, theoretically, can happen to any pregnant person, regardless of background.
And yes, money and resources should be distributed much more fairly than they currently are, and medical care (including therapy) should be freely available to whoever needs it. But no-one deserves censure for using the resources at their disposal to get the vital help that they themselves need. If ‘equine therapy’ is what will help this one bereaved mother through the grieving process, then that’s what she should spend her money on. (My preference lies with a fan who’s been working through trauma by knitting woolly jumpers for their friend’s chickens – see below – but that’s beside the point). Moreover, if she wants to accompany her partner to a stringently socially-distanced event — while still keeping her other children close — who is anyone else, really, to judge?
hey @chrissyteigen! People are terrible. Stay strong. I started knitting to help me work through some serious trauma. I’m not good at it yet, but I just knit a bunch of hoodies for my friend’s chickens. I hope you find a hobby that brings you peace. Good luck and hugs from CO. pic.twitter.com/aiAeNvLvLA
— Danielle Sanchez (@DrDaniSanchez) January 18, 2021
“let’s not forget the packed, often completely mask-less rallies with no social distancing to speak of.”
Then again, maybe recent events have just severely lowered my standards when it comes to celebrities being anything from tone-deaf to outright dangerous. Dua Lipa jetting off on apparently mask-free holidays with friends — after telling the internet at large to stay at home — was just the tip of the iceberg. In October, we had the “humbled and blessed” Kim Kardashian whisking her “inner circle” to a private island to “pretend things were normal”. (Tone-deaf and surreal, yes, but at least the memes were excellent). Not to mention, we’ve seen various ‘influencers’ flying to Dubai as Covid-19 cases rise in the UAE; poolside selfies interspersed with insistences that they are working really hard, ACTUALLY. (Sure, [insert Love Island star here], I totally believe that your ‘product launch’ was unavoidable and just had to be done in person and that one photo of your graph-strewn laptop has me fully convinced of how hard you’re ‘grafting’ on that sun lounger).
Oh, and let’s not forget Donald Trump’s attitude to the pandemic. The reality TV star and “least racist” person ever endorsed by white supremacists downplayed the danger of coronavirus right from the start, left the Biden administration with no plan for vaccine distribution, and of course, let’s not forget the packed, often completely mask-less rallies with no social distancing to speak of.
an influencer who is an essential worker versus influencers who are not essential and neither are their trips to Dubai pic.twitter.com/e6k6LnjElq
— Bee ✨BALLUM DAY✨ (@Callumsovaries) January 26, 2021
The point is, working through grief and trauma through horse-riding lessons is far from the worst possible use of Teigen’s money right now. It’s fine to recognise her general privilege and it’s fine to point it out when a public figure, however unintentionally, says or does something that suggests a distinct lack of room-reading ability. But angrily tweeting at a recently-bereaved parent, however big her bank balance, isn’t going to change the world in the slightest. In future, then, perhaps we should save our keyboard outrage for those truly self-absorbed and life-destroying narcissists (yes, I do mean Trump) who, let’s be honest, deserve it a whole lot more.
Then again, this is Twitter, so we all know that’s not actually going to happen.
Emma Curzon
Featured image courtesy of Ethan Miller/Getty Images via ABC on Flickr. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
