Carissa Pinkston: Model admits lying about being transgender to avoid backlash over transphobic comments

She previously said she 'transitioned at a very young age'

Model admits she lied about being transgender to avoid backlash over transphobic comments (Getty)

An aspiring model who modelled for Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty line has admitted she lied about being transgender to avoid criticism over transphobic comments she’d made.

According to screenshots shared on Twitter, model Carissa Pinkston posted transphobic comments to Facebook in May under the name Rissa Danielle, in which she said being “transgender does not make you a woman”.

After Pinkston was identified as being behind the comments, she was dropped by her agency Elite Model Management.

On 22 July, the 20-year-old attempted to defend her comments by sharing a now-deleted “coming out” post on Instagram, in which she said she was “forced to tell the truth”.

“I wasn’t ready to come out about it yet but today I got fired and I’ve been receiving hate mail and death threats ever since so I’m being forced to tell the truth,” the model wrote. “I’m Transgender.

“I transitioned at a very young age and I’ve lived my life as a female ever since. It’s been very hard to keep this secret but what I said about trans-women is a direct reflection of my inner insecurities and I have since come to realise that I am a woman… WE ALL ARE!”

However, shortly after Pinkston shared the post, she was accused by others in the industry of lying about being transgender.

Transgender model Aaron Philip tweeted: “Imagine being a model who got exposed for being a raging transphobe/saying extremely transphobic sh** in the past and then resorting to LYING ABOUT BEING TRANSGENDER ONLINE FOR CLOUT IN ATTEMPT TO SAVE YOUR CAREER…?”

“I know this person [in real life] and she is so cisgender??”

Following further backlash, Pinkston apologised on Instagram over the weekend, writing that she had lied about being transgender because she’s “human” and “makes mistakes”.

The now-deleted post read: “I apologise for any transphobic remark I’ve ever made towards the trans community. I panicked and I thought if I came out as trans that I could somehow make things better for myself but it appears I’ve only made things worse.

“I’m truly sorry. I’m only 20 and I’m human. I make mistakes but I refuse to let them define me.”

The model concluded her post adding that she hopes everyone can forgive her and “move on from this”.

In further posts, which have also been deleted but shared on Twitter, Pinkston shared photos of herself and transgender actress Hunter Schafer and revealed that Schafer is no longer speaking to her over the incident.

Pinkston also asked transgender people to “help educate me about the topic”.

The Independent has contacted Pinkston for comment.