Who is Dencia? Singer claims Chrissy Teigen pushed her twice at 2016 Grammys
The claims of bullying and harassment mount against TV personality Chrissy Teigen, with another name joining the list. This time, Cameroonian singer Dencia has accused Teigen of bullying her at the 2016 Grammys, repeatedly over a misunderstanding.
Teigen is currently facing massive backlash after several people have accused her of bullying. Model Courtney Stodden was the first to come out, revealing she was harassed in 2011. That controversy led Macy's to drop Teigen's cookware line. A week ago, celebrity designer Michael Costello also came out to reveal he was harassed by Teigen over a fake comment.
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Now Dencia has become the next person to accuse Teigen of bullying, while Teigen is struggling to clean up her image. Teigen attempted to issue a lengthy apology via Twitter, but critics continued to slam her. Those controversies inspired Dencia to speak up, with the singer saying, "I just never thought of it as something, but...I saw her bully people online and was like, 'Damn!'."
Who is Dencia?
A Cameroonian-born singer, entrepreneur and fashion designer, Dencia's original name is Reprudencia Sonkey. She was born and educated in Cameroon, before moving to the US. She pursued her higher education in the US and studied at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in New York with an associate's degree. She has also studied at Santa Monica College, Pierce College at the University of Southern California.
She got her start in the music industry by featuring in videos with Chris Brown, 50 Cent, Lady Gaga, and Ludacris. Her big breakthrough came in 2012 when she released her own single 'Beri Beri' on iTunes. She soon earned the nickname of 'Africa's Lady Gaga'. The success of 'Beri Beri' led to numerous other popular songs like 'African Energy', 'True Love', and 'most recently 'What God Bless'.
Along with her music career, Dencia doubles up as a fashion designer and has reportedly designed for Lil Mama, Christina Milian, Rihanna, and Nicki Minaj, among others. Then in 2014, she turned into an entrepreneur with the launch of Whitenicious, a skincare brand. That brand did come under some controversy and even a public spat with actress Lupita Nyong’o. Those stem from the fact Whitencious is a skin-lightening cream, which many Black activists have long decried. But that didn't seem to bother Dencia. "People really want to buy it. It’s what it is. I don’t really care,' she once told Ebony Magazine.
Another controversy she was involved in at the time involves her rumored then-boyfriend, Paul Pogba. The football star and Dencia were reportedly engaged in some very loud sex at a hotel in Manchester, UK. Guests complained to hotel staff about their loud moans and music, but to no avail. Both Pogba and Dencia have slammed the story, with Pogba's agent even tweeting, "Glad The Sun thinks Paul is THAT good but in fact story made up. Suits their trademark."
Dencia calls her Chrissy Teigen 'mean spirited'
During the 2016 Grammys, Dencia claims "My assistant at the time took his phone out to record a video of me as I walked the carpet. Chrissy literally yanked his phone out of his hand and said, 'Don’t record me!'" In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Dencia says Teigen wasn't even in the frame, but that didn't stop Teigen from harassing her. She claims, "she pushed me when I got off the carpet after them!"
Dencia added that she was shoved a second time as well, "I almost fell flat on my face." The singer said the whole incident was observed by Teigen's husband John Legend, but he didn't intervene. "John literally witnessed it. He could have told her to chill, but he didn’t say shit. He was right there with her." Since the incident, Dencia says she "never liked" Teigen, and said she was "just a mean-spirited human."