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Chrissy Teigen is well-known for her Twitter presence and witty tweets but now the model has blocked over a million Twitter users, made her account private and deleted over 60,000 of her own tweets after conspiracy theories connected her to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Teigen said that since the arrest of Ghislaine Maxwell, who faces charges for allegations that recruited girls for Epstein to sexually abuse more than two decades ago, social media users alleged that Teigen once flew on Epstein’s private jet and have accused her of being a “pedophile.”
Teigen has denied the allegations and on July 10 she tweeted, “I have never even met the man,” referring to Epstein, “Or been to the island. Or on the plane.”
On July 14, comedian Chrissie Mayr accused Teigen of deleting 28,000 tweets because of an alleged connection with the arrest of Maxwell.
“Some celebrities have been VERY busy since #GhislaineMaxwell was arrested. @ChrissyTeigen why did you delete over 28,000 tweets yesterday??!! #ChrissyTeigen was ON the #EpsteinFlightLogs,” Mayr tweeted.
In response, Teigen said, “I actually deleted 60,000 tweets because I cannot f—ing STAND you idiots anymore and I’m worried for my family. Finding me talking about Toddlers and Tiaras in 2013 and thinking you’re some sort of f—ing operative.”
On July 15, Teigen said that she had blocked “over one million people”
“I have block chained over one million people, ONE MILLION people today and I am still flooded with sick psychopaths. So please, spare me the ‘just ignore them, they’re just trolls,’” she wrote. “Anyhow I’ll do my best to stop entertaining them. They have definitely been living for this and have zeroed in on ONLY me. Thank u to EVERYONE for helping me, in and out of the dm’s.”
Teigen also debated leaving the social media platform and called on Twitter to help stop the harassment she’s been receiving.
“I have a family and job and there are too many to target,” she wrote. “I’ve tried everything. Every lawyer says it will take many years and not change a f—ing thing. Because they will ALWAYS be crazy.”
She continued, “They have no idea how hard this is to cope with. They won’t stop until I die. I’m convinced of it. And even then they’ll think of another conspiracy.”
The claims against Teigen began when far-right group “QAnon”, which is known for spreading conspiracy theories, began to accuse her and her husband John Legend of being connected to Epstein and Maxwell.
“Like someone there is a chicken scratch list of with ‘epStEin FLIGHT loGs’ and wrote down jon + crissy and now they all believe this,” Teigen tweeted on Oct. 24, 2019.
Teigen took to Twitter again this week to explain why she blocked so many people on the social media platform, writing, “Every time I post food, some q anon loser asks if it contains baby.”
“I’m honestly just gonna start posting things to drive them even more bats–t insane. Also like, was I on the island, do I eat babies, or just put them on my skin, or am a pedo?? like I’m everything? pick a lane,” she added.
“QAnon” is a right-wing conspiracy theory group centered on the belief that Donald Trump is waging a secret campaign against enemies in the “deep state” and a child sex trafficking ring run by satanic pedophiles and cannibals. For more than two years, followers have pored over a tangled set of clues purportedly posted online by a high-ranking government official known only as “Q.”
In March, the group said that Oprah Winfrey had been arrested on sex trafficking charges and her home had been raided by police. Winfrey denied the rumours from QAnon.
Teigen also tried to reason with the QAnon believers on Twitter, writing, “if we wanna play with your lie just for fun, do you understand that if I were on the flight for the date of this ‘manifest,’ I’d be a victim.”
In another tweet, Teigen wrote, “When pedo ghislaine (Maxwell) sings like a canary (if she doesn’t die) and we have nothing to do with this, I know for a fact it won’t go away. They’ll just think of another excuse. It is extremely disheartening. I don’t know how to stop this. i don’t think anyone quite gets it.”
Teigen made her Twitter account private following all the harassment she has been receiving.
Maxwell pleaded not guilty in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday at a hearing in which women who accused her of enabling their abuse gave statements denouncing her “heinous” crimes.
U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan presided over the arraignment and bail hearing for Maxwell, who prosecutors have accused of helping Epstein recruit and eventually abuse girls as young as 14 from 1994 to 1997 and lying about her role in depositions in 2016. The judge was expected to rule on whether to grant bail.
Nathan also scheduled a trial date for July 12, 2021.
Maxwell, 58, was charged with six criminal counts, including four related to transporting minors for illegal sexual acts and two for perjury. Prosecutors argued at the hearing against Maxwell’s bid for bail, describing her as an extreme flight risk.
—With files from Reuters and The Associated Press
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