Michael Costello "Whitewashes" Asian Model After He Replaced Her Face With AI

An Asian model named Shereen Wu says that a fashion designer – Michael Costello – replaced her face with an AI white woman.

"I recently walked for Michael Costello, but that's not me he posted on his Story," Wu said in her viral TikTok, pointing to an altered photo of herself on the runway. "Michael's a big designer with 1.7 million followers. Editing my face and removing my race is completely disrespectful."

She added that Costello claimed to cast her because he liked her, except that she "wasn't even on his official list." According to the young TikToker, she walked last minute due to a model missing.

Shereen Wu Tells All

Being of Asian descent myself, I was horrified by Wu's story, so I reached out to her. I thought it was Wu herself who had caught Costello after he posted the edited picture on his IG Stories – it turns out I was wrong. It was her mother who saw it, which only adds another layer of pain to the situation. On October 24, 2023, Costello uploaded the altered image of Wu on social media. Her mother saw it 12 hours later and alerted her daughter. In a message to Evie, the model wrote, "She was confused, sent me the edited photo, and texted me: '等一下打給你好嗎?', which translates to 'Wait a sec, can I call you?'"

Wu's immediate response to her mom was, “Who is this?" She didn't realize that it was a photo of herself. "I was confused why she sent me a seemingly random model," she told us. "She then called me, frantic, saying, 'Isn’t this your outfit? Why is the head different? I thought I was mistaken.'” I can only imagine what Wu's mother was going through when her daughter's natural beauty was replaced by a white, AI-generated face. No parent would want to see their kids disrespected, no less in front of millions of people.

Wu was at a loss. "My initial reaction was provoked, then scared. How did this get approved? Did the designer do this? I’m too scared to ask—I typically avoid confrontations. I was heartbroken when I heard my mom’s reaction. My mom, one of my biggest fans, had to see her own daughter’s body with another face," she continued. "She didn’t know why someone would do such a thing, let alone post it."

"My mom, one of my biggest fans, had to see her own daughter’s body with another face."

The fashion designer is allegedly blaming the photographer for the badly edited photo. "When I asked Mr. Costello why he replaced my head, I was brushed aside and simply told he couldn’t control what photographers gave him. It was so easy for him to just give me a reason and take responsibility. But he never did. I felt so small," Wu confessed. "What about the makeup artist’s work? What about the hairdresser who wanted images for his portfolio?"

Wu said when an unnamed model asked Costello about the image, he asserted it was simply "fan art." I'm not sure how replacing a model's race and face is "fan art," so I'd love for Costello to elaborate. To make matters worse, the models and makeup artists on the show don't get paid. They walk to get their name and image out there, an opportunity essentially denied to Wu by covering her face on social media. "None of us, to my knowledge, were getting paid; we do it for the exposure and for the art," Wu explained in her message to us.

Michael Costello Reportedly Has A "Problematic" Past

This is not the first time Costello has been deemed a racist by people. In 2014, Costello initially claimed that Chrissy Teigen called him "a racist," posting screenshots of alleged messages between them. Teigen, who faced criticism for her past hurtful tweets, apologized but did not reach out to Costello directly. The accusation prompted other individuals to come forward with allegations against him – including sexual harassment and body shaming.

Leona Lewis was one of them. The singer revealed her negative experience with Costello and how he refused to provide her with a dress for a charity fashion show due to her body size. Lewis said she was “embarrassed” and “deeply hurt” and that the ordeal “came as a total surprise because weeks prior I was told that they would make the dress work for me.”

One makeup artist named Jordan Liberty also claims that Costello sent him inappropriate messages during his chemotherapy treatment. Yeah, read that again. You've got to be a freak to do something so insensitive, so I can only hope these allegations are false. On a separate occasion, designer Maxie James had a dispute with Costello over one of her dress designs, which led to even more allegations of racism and a physical altercation.

Three days ago, Costello took to Instagram after facing backlash from social media users. "I just wanna sit here and apologize, like, from the bottom of my heart," he said. "I'm really, really shocked and mortified and honestly [I] just don't know what to say to you guys." If you think he's apologizing to Wu, think again. He continued, "That two of my really close friends that I work with every single day, Tanya and ShiShi, do not know the Renaissance track."

Meanwhile, Wu continues to use her voice but suggests that Costello's PR team may be doing some damage control after "bots" came to his defense on social media. "500+ Bots saying my story is suspicious, accounts being created to impersonate me, an account suspension, every comment about this situation gets reported," she wrote on Instagram. "This all happened after I spoke out."

"I did not know of his past before walking for him…" Wu added to her caption on IG. "I wish I did."

For Wu and so many other women in the entertainment and fashion industry, speaking out about the mistreatment by high-profile individuals is a daunting step. The fear of potential consequences and the power dynamics within the industry can make anyone stay silent. Still, the model is speaking out to encourage others to do the same.

"I sat in fear for three days, wondering what would happen to me if I were to speak out," Wu recalled. "I figured I would be complaining to a small corner of the internet: to my family and friends. I didn’t realize it would blow up to this extent. But I figured that if I don’t stand up, I’m betraying my own values and integrity. As long as my story is out there, future models who feel scared like I was might have a bit more courage to speak their truth."

"As long as my story is out there, future models who feel scared like I was might have a bit more courage to speak their truth."

Evie Magazine has reached out to Michael Costello for comment.

This article is an opinion piece.

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