Chrissy Teigen is adored on social media for her honest and down-to-earth posts, but one recent tweet missed the mark, and now fans are calling out her “privilege.”
“My mom treats her air pods like they’re disposable. buys a few a month. She says they would be easier to not lose if they had….a cord,” Teigen wrote on Twitter.
my mom treats her air pods like they’re disposable. buys a few a month. she says they would be easier to not lose if they had….a cord
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) November 6, 2019
The cheapest pair of Apple AirPods cost $159 and the “pro version” has an even heftier $259 price tag, so fans weren’t thrilled by the idea of anyone treating them as disposable. There have also been multiple articles about the negative impact of AirPods on the environment–it is impossible to change the batteries in them when they die, and they are hard to recycle. Many on social media instantly pounced on the model and social media star, outraged over her apparent wastefulness and privilege.
“You know lots of people are literally dying in this country cause they can’t afford insulin right,” Twitter user @goodopinionhavr wrote.
Another recalled the time when Teigen railed against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and his supporters on Twitter (she got heat for that too).
“If this is just a cute, fun story for you I get why you hate bernie so much, must be nice to have this obscene wealth!” Twitter user @theyoungman6669 wrote.
if this is just a cute, fun story for you i get why you hate bernie so much, must be nice to have this obscene wealth!
— Alex (@theyoungman6669) November 7, 2019
You know lots of people are literally dying in this country cause they can’t afford insulin right
— BrooklynChris_Defiant (@goodopinionhavr) November 7, 2019
Some debt-ridden fans tried to shoot their shot and ask the star for some quick cash or for help with student loans since Teigen and her family apparently have more than enough.
“Can you pay my student loans, they’re like idk 11K,” Twitter user @Chinchillazllla questioned.
can you pay my student loans, they’re like idk 11K
— i bless the rains down in castamere (@Chinchillazllla) November 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/MuellerDad69/status/1192460988592906240
In response to the outrage and criticism, Teigen tweeted an apology, admitting to over-exaggerating a bit about just how many AirPods her mom goes through and promising her fans she would “do better.”
“Oh man I haven’t checked my mentions for a bit and I didn’t realize how many people were super pissed off about this. It was meant as a joke (and exaggeration) about how my mom doesn’t realize air pods are with a cord are headphones but it came across as super tone deaf and icky,” Teigen wrote.
“I promise I will not always say the right thing in the right way but I also promise I hate disappointing or pissing you guys off. I’m sorry and I will do better to not be such an asshole,” she added.
I promise I will not always say the right thing in the right way but I also promise I hate disappointing or pissing you guys off. I’m sorry and I will do better to not be such an asshole.
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) November 8, 2019
Some fans still weren’t pleased and urged Teigen to take action around wealth redistribution.
“It’s not about how you said it. It’s the fact that some people are starving while others can treat $150 air pods as disposable. I love you Chrissy but seriously, stop pretending this is about tone and start campaigning for wealth redistribution,” Twitter user @hilaryagro wrote.
https://twitter.com/hilaryagro/status/1192643814084792321
But others are standing by Teigen, urging her not to apologize for a joke, especially because she should be free to do whatever she pleases with her own money.
“You definitely don’t owe anyone an apology for what was a very funny story,” the Athletic writer Jason Kersey tweeted.
https://twitter.com/jasonkersey/status/1192605045692534785
READ MORE:
- Chrissy Teigen draws the ire of QAnon fans for criticizing conspiracy
- Our 5 favorite AirPod charging cases at every price point
- Your best bets for finding discounted and refurbished Airpods
- The best Airpod alternatives at every price point
H/T Bustle