On Saturday, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend donated $200,000 to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund through GoFundMe on behalf of the “heroic gymnasts of the USA Gymnastics Team” who came forward with allegations of sexual abuse by their team doctor, Larry Nassar.
According to the GoFundMe page, the money donated will “provide subsidized legal support to women and men who have experienced sexual harassment, assault, or abuse in the workplace and while in pursuit of their careers.”
The donation was made just after more than 160 of Nassar’s victims — including Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman and more — testified against him. The former USA Gymnastics team doctor and Michigan State University physician was sentenced to up to 175 years of prison.
One of the accusers, gold medal winner McKayla Maroney, initially faced a $100,000 fine if she was to break a non-disclosure agreement to not speak out on Nassar’s actions, as part of a settlement she reached with USA gymnastics in 2016. Teigen saw the news and offered to cover the cost on Maroney’s behalf.
The entire principle of this should be fought – an NDA to stay quiet about this serial monster with over 140 accusers, but I would be absolutely honored to pay this fine for you, McKayla. pic.twitter.com/lsBEgEqZpD
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) January 16, 2018
In the end, Maroney was allowed to testify without a fine, but Teigen still wanted to contribute, and with her husband, doubled her initial offer.