Linda Evangelista left 'disfigured' after cosmetic procedure, files $50 million lawsuit

Canadian supermodel Linda Evangelista has been left 'brutally deformed' after a non-surgical cosmetic procedure that she underwent five years ago. Taking to Instagram, the 90s era fashion model opened up about her surgery in a lengthy post and revealed that she had been left 'unrecognizable' by Zeltiq’s CoolSculpting procedure which was intended to decrease her fat cells.

Explaining the reason behind her prolonged absence Evangelista said, “To my followers who have wondered why I have not been working while my peers' careers have been thriving, the reason is that I was brutally disfigured by Zeltiq's CoolSculpting procedure.”  She added, "It increased, not decreased, my fat cells and left me permanently deformed even after undergoing two painful, unsuccessful, corrective surgeries. I have been left, as the media has described, 'unrecognizable.'"

How was Linda Evangelista disfigured?

According to the fashion model, CoolSculpting is a cosmetic treatment that freezes away unwanted fat. After her surgery backfired, Evangelista became deeply depressed and reclusive in the years following the treatment. The model disclosed that she had developed Paradoxical Adipose Hyperplasia or PAH, a side-effect of the procedure of which she had not been made aware of. Moreover, cosmetic procedures to correct her PAH had also failed. 

She wrote, "PAH has not only destroyed my livelihood, it has sent me into a cycle of deep depression, profound sadness, and the lowest depths of self-loathing. In the process, I have become a recluse." 

Linda Evangelista to file $50 million lawsuit

The 56-year-old announced that the side-effect has destroyed her livelihood and after years of suffering, she was ready to file a lawsuit seeking $50 million in damages for lost income and emotional distress that the cosmetic company had caused her. She stated that the procedure had made her 'unemployable' as a model and she had not earned anything from modelling since 2016.

"With this lawsuit, I am moving forward to rid myself of my shame and going public with my story. I’m so tired of living this way. I would like to walk out my door with my head held high, despite not looking like myself any longer," she concluded. 

Linda Evangelista was last seen in the Apple TV+ documentary series titled 'The Supermodels' which focused on the supermodels of the 1990s along with the likes of Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, and Christy Turlington.