Linda Evangelista, the 1990s supermodel, claimed she had become “brutally disfigured” and “unrecognisable” following a cosmetic body-sculpting procedure that had turned her into a recluse.
In a Wednesday post on Instagram, she referred to the filing of the lawsuit, saying she is taking “a big step towards correcting a mistake I have suffered from and have been hiding for over five years.
She mentioned filing a lawsuit in an Instagram post on Wednesday, saying it was “a big step towards righting a wrong that I have suffered and kept to myself for over five years.”
“To my followers who have wondered why I haven’t been working while my peers’ careers have been thriving, the reason is that I was brutally disfigured by Zeltiq’s CoolSculpting procedure, which did the opposite of what it promised,” she continued.
Evangelista, 56, said she developed paradoxical adipose hyperplasia, a side effect in which patients develop firm tissue masses in the treatment areas after the fat-freezing procedure.
She claimed that the cosmetic procedure left her “permanently deformed, despite two painful, unsuccessful corrective surgeries.”
“PAH has not only destroyed my livelihood, but it has also thrown me into a vicious cycle of deep depression, profound sadness, and the lowest depths of self-loathing,” she wrote.
Evangelista, one of the top five supermodels in the 1990s, shared her storey on Instagram, where she has 912,000 followers.
On Tuesday, Evangelista filed a lawsuit against Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc. in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
According to the case, she sued for $50 million in compensatory damages for her distress and loss of work, promotions, and public appearances.
The company’s representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. Evangelista’s lawyer was not immediately available for comment.
According to the lawsuit, the company “intentionally concealed” the risks or “failed to adequately warn” about them, and Evangelista developed depression and a fear of going outside as a result.
CoolSculpting claims that the Food and Drug Administration has approved its procedure to treat visible fat bulges.
In response to inquiries, the FDA stated in an email that it could not comment on the litigation but was “committed to ensuring medical devices are safe and effective and that patients can be fully informed when making personal health decisions.”
It stated that it monitors consumer reports of adverse events after a device is released to the market and will “take appropriate action.”
