His truth. Retired celebrity stylist Law Roach has shared a response to Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ claim that “someone” told her she “wasn’t sample-sized.”
“It was a little bit hurtful,” Roach, 44, said during a Friday, March 17, interview with The Cut after Chopra Jonas — his former client — opened up about “difficult” things she’s been told while speaking at the 2023 South by Southwest Film Festival kickoff on March 10.
“In my job the pressure is so intense, you can’t really show the chinks in your armor,” Chopra Jonas, 40, continued. “Someone told me yesterday that I wasn’t sample-sized … I was hurt and I discussed it with my family, and I cried to my husband [Nick Jonas], and my team, and I felt really bad about the fact that I’m not sample size, and that’s a problem, apparently, and most of us are not, and sample size is size 2.”
While Chopra Jonas did not name Roach during the SXSW panel, he was asked about the comments she made while speaking with The Cut. “That wasn’t the real conversation,” the fashion expert explained. “I’ve never had that conversation with her, ever … It was her gatekeepers, how they presented what I said to her to make her feel that way. If I made her feel bad … it was taken out of context.”
Roach continued: “I’m sure it was taken out of context to get her to be like, ‘Oh, OK, I’m not working with him anymore. He’s insensitive to my body.’ [And] I’m like, ‘How is that possible? I’ve been dressing you for literally pre-pandemic, and it’s been nothing but great things.’”
The Chicago native suggested that he was made to be “the bad guy” by Chopra Jonas’ agents. “I’m the one who is dealing with the clothes and the body,” Roach told The Cut. “Like, I need to be the one who says, you know — and I’m not talking about her … I’m just talking in general. I need to be the one to say, ‘Oh, you know, be careful because, you know, the pictures aren’t as beautiful because you coming across, you know, a little thicker than you used to be.’ So, they’ll say that to me or have a discussion with me but then take it back [to her] as if I was the lead in the discussion … I’m not saying that’s exactly what happened, but that’s what feels like happened to me.”
Roach then gushed over Chopra Jonas: “I love [her] … She has this thing that’s very Old Hollywood, Sophia Loren — it drives me crazy. She has a twinkle, she has a wiggle and I love her, like, even as a person.”
Roach latest remarks come after he announced his shocking retirement from dressing celebrities on Tuesday, March 14.
“My Cup is empty….. thank you to everyone who’ve supported me and my career over the years,” he began via Instagram. “Every person that trusted me with their image, I’m so grateful for you all. If this business was just about the clothes I would do it for the rest of my life but unfortunately, it’s not! The politics, the lies and false narratives finally got me! You win … I’m out.”
One day later, Roach clarified what his retirement announcement means for his future in this industry. “I’m not saying I’m retiring from fashion,” Roach explained to Vogue after he made his modeling debut in the spring/summer 2023 Boss show. “I love fashion. I love the business, and I love being creative. What I’m retiring from is the celebrity styling part of it: the being in service and at service of other people. That’s what I’m retiring from, yeah.”
He continued: “I [made this statement] just to relieve some pressure for myself, right? … I said, ‘You know what, I’ve done everything I wanted to do in this career. I’ve received all the awards, the accolades, I’ve changed people’s lives.’ … It was really me giving myself the grace to say, ‘It’s OK. You can do something else.’”
