Ashley Graham Responds to Cheryl Tiegs Insults: 'My Skin Is So Thick'

Sports Illustrated cover star Ashley Graham is responding to model Cheryl Tiegs, after calling her plus-sized frame “unhealthy.”

“Cheryl Tiegs may have said what she said, and it may have hurt a lot of peoples feelings but my skin is so thick,” Ashley told E! News.

“I kind of rolled my eyes, I was like, ‘Oh whatever, another one of these ladies.’ But what’s great is that – the fact that she said it – it means that other women think like her. And what that means is that we really need to change the industry. There are too many people thinking they can look at a girl my size and say that we are unhealthy. You can’t, only my doctor can!,” Ashley continued.

As for if she ever got a personal apology from Cheryl, Ashley said, “I’ve never personally heard from her. She said her comment about me, then never heard a follow up. People are saying she apologized. But I never heard one.”

So…will Ashley ever meet Cheryl in person? “You never know, and I will go up to her and say hello, and all the SI girls, I’ve always looked up to them. They are classic, amazing, beautiful women and it’s a shame that we have to bring other people down, but that’s why I’m here. I’ve got to bring other women up,” she said.