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John Legend Defends Chrissy Teigen amid Michael Costello Drama, Claims He 'Fabricated a DM Exchange'

Rachel Murray/Getty; Frazer Harrison/Getty; Robin Marchant/Getty

John Legend is standing by his wife Chrissy Teigen.

On Friday, the singer, 42, addressed the ongoing controversy surrounding fashion designer Michael Costello and Teigen, 35. Legend's defense of Teigen comes after Costello, 38, accused her of bullying, and her team alleged DMs between the two were fake, according to an article by Business Insider.

"Chrissy apologized for her public tweets, but after her apology, Mr Costello fabricated a DM exchange between them. This exchange was made up, completely fake, never happened," Legend claimed in his response to a tweet from New York Times reporter Taylor Lorenz.

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"Honestly I don't know why anyone would fake DMs to insert themselves in this narrative, but that's what happened," Legend tweeted. "I encourage everyone who breathlessly spread this lie to keep that same energy when they correct the record."

RELATED: Chrissy Teigen's Team Claims Michael Costello Posted Fake Screenshots of Alleged Bullying: Report

The Insider story noted that there were inconsistencies in Costello's DM screenshots, including the fact that Teigen's account was missing a verified checkmark and that it featured blue and purple messages, a design implemented in the last year.

Costello's team issued a statement to PEOPLE soon after the Insider piece about Teigen "desperately trying to prove the DMs are fake," as they described her as "the same bully."

"Beyond the DMs and the public comments Chrissy Teigen left on Michael Costello's Instagram for the world to see, there are emails and documents unreleased to the public which confirms Chrissy Teigen has gone beyond social media to blacklist Michael Costello offline, making him endure over seven years of suffering - mentally and financially," the statement reads.

RELATED VIDEO: Leona Lewis Says She Was 'Deeply Hurt' by Michael Costello After He Accuses Chrissy Teigen of Bullying

The Costello drama - which erupted after he said he had "unhealed trauma" for racism and bullying he claimed he experienced with the Cravings cookbook writer - follows Teigen's apology for past hurtful tweets in a Medium post on Monday. In the piece, she said that she's felt "the crushing weight of regret for the things I've said in the past."

Listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day for more on Chrissy Teigen and Michael Costello.

"There is simply no excuse for my past horrible tweets. My targets didn't deserve them. No one does," she wrote. "Many of them needed empathy, kindness, understanding and support, not my meanness masquerading as a kind of casual, edgy humor. I was a troll, full stop. And I am so sorry."

"There's no justification for my behavior. I'm not a victim here. The subjects of your sympathy - and mine - should be those I put down," Teigen added. "The truth is, I'm no longer the person who wrote those horrible things. I grew up, got therapy, got married, had kids, got more therapy, experienced loss and pain, got more therapy and experienced more life. AND GOT MORE THERAPY."