John Legend Comments on Wife Chrissy Teigen’s Bullying Controversy Raise Questions

John Legend was staying positive as he broke his silence about wife Chrissy Teigen‘s bullying scandal Wednesday. Following Teigen’s lengthy apology earlier in the week, the Grammy-winner told The Daily Mail she was doing “great” in a one-word answer to the paparazzi. Teigen recently returned to social media on June 14 after a lengthy hiatus following accusations made by Courtney Stodden that the model had bullied them in private messages years ago.

Some experts have been weighing in after the comments, though, questioning why Legend has remained silent on the alleged bullying. Fox News spoke with brand expert Eric Schiffer about the situation, with the expert noting that Legend’s silence on the issue could end up being a detriment.

“During a period in which Chrissy was going through media scrutiny for mistreatment of people like Courtney Stodden, Legend said nothing. In the process, what that did is it caused him to further his brand to align in many ways with his wife’s,” Schiffer told the outlet. “John didn’t do the conduct. But he is stuck in this bitter choice between his love for his wife and either his disgust with her behavior or him privately being ok with it. Because he didn’t speak out right away it causes the public to wonder, was he OK with it?”

The scrutiny mentioned was shared by Stodden in a profile with Buzzfeed in recent months. “She wouldn’t just publicly tweet about wanting me to take ‘a dirt nap’ but would privately DM me and tell me to kill myself. Things like, ‘I can’t wait for you to die,’” Stodden, 26, told The Daily Beast in May. “Some of the worst treatment I got was from women, and we’re not going to get anywhere if we keep holding each other back.” Teigen apologized to the singer on social media soon after, saying she was an “insecure, attention seeking troll” at the time and is now “ashamed and completely embarrassed” at her behavior.

Teigen quietly stepped back from her role in Netflix’s Never Have I Ever in the wake of the scandal, but returned Monday to social media with a lengthy apology shared on Medium. The Cravings author said she had felt the “crushing weight of regret” for her past actions, wondering how she could have ever written those things. The mother-of-two said she was in the process of apologizing privately to people and that there was “simply no excuse” for her past tweets, which she described as “meanness masquerading as a kind of casual, edgy” humor. “I won’t ask for your forgiveness, only your patience and tolerance,” she continued. “I ask that you allow me, as I promise to allow you, to own past mistakes and be given the opportunity to seek self improvement and change.”

Just hours later, Project Runway alum Michael Costello accused Teigen of sending him death threats and preventing him from getting jobs in 2014, saying it had left him with “deep, unhealed trauma” and struggling with suicidal thoughts. Teigen has yet to respond publicly to the latest wave of allegations against her.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741-741.