Chrissy Teigen's team have accused Michael Costello of sharing fake screenshots

As noted by the staff member to Business Insider, there were a number of inconsistencies which suggested the posts had been altered in some way, with examples including a missing tick next to Chrissy's name - which would date the posts as being from 2014, before Instagram launched their verification programme - in a screenshot which featured purple and blue messages, despite the platform only introducing that design last year.

The screenshots also showed a video chat icon, which Instagram introduced in 2018, alongside a profile photo which Chrissy had changed no later than 2016.

Earlier this week, Chrissy spoke up to apologise for past "horrible tweets" and admitted she had been a "troll" for no real reason.

Shortly after her message was posted on Medium, Michael shared a statement on Instagram claiming he'd been left with "unhealed trauma" due to his encounters with the 'Chrissy's Court' star, particularly after she commented on his account after he was accused of racism in 2014.

Alongside the statement Michael - who insisted the racist comments had been photoshopped to appear to have come from him by an ex-employee - shared the unverified screenshots of a direct message exchange with Chrissy.

Leona Lewis then waded into the row when she defended the model and accused the fashion designer of leaving her "humiliated" and with body image issues when he pulled out of dressing her for a 2014 event.

She noted: : “I wish him so much love and healing. I’m sure this will come as a shock as I’ve never told him how I feel.

“But the pot calling the kettle black in this situation doesn’t sit right with me. Bullying comes in many different forms. We need love, we need accountability, we need forgiveness, none of us are perfect.”