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Farewell, Chrissy Teigen’s Twitter. Why the social media queen quit the app

Chrissy Teigen smiling in a ruffled orange dress
Chrissy Teigen arrives at the 2020 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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After a long, love-hate relationship with Twitter, Chrissy Teigen has left the social media platform.

The model and cookbook author announced Wednesday to more than 13 million followers that she was done tweeting, citing a toxic environment that has taken a toll on her mental health.

Teigen, who has bailed on the app before and then returned, had established herself as a major Twitter celebrity through witty musings about everyday life with husband John Legend, candid commentary on hot-button topics and the occasional snarky spat with powerful figures, such as former President Trump.

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“For over 10 years, you guys have been my world,” Teigen tweeted shortly before deactivating her account. “I honestly owe so much to this world we have created here. I truly consider so many of you my actual friends.

“But it’s time for me to say goodbye,” she added in a follow-up tweet. This no longer serves me as positively as it serves me negatively, and I think that’s the right time to call something.”

Chrissy Teigen, who had been hospitalized for excessive bleeding during her third pregnancy and had been sharing details about the complications on her popular social media accounts, announced Wednesday night that she lost the pregnancy.

Though Teigen’s quick humor and expert comeback game earned her millions of Twitter fans, the “Cravings” mastermind also drew plenty of haters, who often mocked her for her fame and lavish lifestyle. Many thought the intensity of hate from Twitter trolls was downright cruel.

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While Teigen was praised for opening up on social media about intimate experiences, including her pregnancy loss in September, several others judged her harshly for how much she often revealed.

“My life goal is to make people happy,” Teigen continued in her farewell message. “The pain I feel when I don’t is just too much for me. I’ve always been portrayed as the strong clap back girl but I’m just not.

“My desire to be liked and fear of pissing people off has made me somebody you didn’t sign up for, and a different human than I started out here as! Live well, tweeters. Please know all I ever cared about was you!”

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On Thursday morning, Teigen took to Instagram, where she has more than 34 million followers, to further explain her Twitter departure.

“It’s not the platform. It’s not the ‘bullying’. And it’s not the trolls. The trolls I can deal with, although it weighs on you,” she wrote, sharing a screenshot of her deactivated Twitter account. “It’s just me. I have to come to terms with the fact some people aren’t gonna like me.

“Someone can’t read that they disappointed you in some way every single day, all day without physically absorbing that energy,” she added. “I can feel it in my bones.”

Donald Trump blocked Chrissy Teigen from following his Twitter account. But President Biden is already following the cookbook author, much to her delight.

Teigen’s Twitter exit has already been mourned by several supporters, including late-night TV host Lilly Singh, who expressed her admiration for the cooking mogul and wished her well heading into her new, Twitter-free existence.

”... once I was at a party and I was a loner and felt so out of place,” Singh tweeted Wednesday. “One of the only people who made me feel comfortable was Chrissy Teigen. She joked with me. She was warm towards me. She made me feel seen. Twitter ain’t it. Try real life.”

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See more reactions to Teigen’s buzzy Twitter departure below.

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