Christie Brinkley Breaks Silence Over Dr. Federic Brandt's Suicide

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Christie Brinkley is weighing in on the shocking suicide of celebrity dermatologist Dr. Fredric Brandt.

Brandt, who was 65, had been dealing with depression "for some time," his publicist Susan Biegacz told the New York Times on Monday. She also said he had recently been "devastated" by what is believed to be a parody of him on Tina Fey's Netflix comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, in which Martin Short plays plastic surgeon Dr. Sidney Grant. Short's features in the show are thought to be an exaggerated version of Brandt's.

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Brinkley says she knew Brandt, and in an Instagram post on Tuesday, the 61-year-old supermodel denounced "bullying."

"I knew the very sweet, cheerful innovater Dr. Fredric Brandt not well or for long but I know he dedicated his life to helping people feel beautiful and good about themselves," she wrote. "Yet I read in the paper that people made him feel so bad about himself that he took his own life. This breaks my heart. Bullying breaks my heart."

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"There were certain areas that simply were not fair game back in the day ... Physical appearance, a person challenged in some way," she also pointed out. "We all want and need to laugh in this crazy world but let's never let that laugh be at the expense of a life. #RIPDr.Brandt #intheendonlykindnessmatters."

Fey has not commented on Brandt's death, but her husband Jeff Richmond -- who is an executive producer and the music composer on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt -- told Daily Mail Online that he was saddened by the tragedy.

"That's very sad," Richmond said on Tuesday near their home in New York City's Upper West Side. "I don't know anything about it. I just got home. Tina might know, I don't. She's not home."

Brandt's celebrity clientele included such A-listers as Madonna and Kelly Ripa.

Ripa mourned the loss of her friend on Monday, tweeting, "My heart is breaking for the loss of Dr. Fredric Brandt. My friend. You will be missed forever and in my heart even longer."

VIDEO: Dr. Fredric Brandt, Celebrity Dermatologist, Dies at 65

Watch the video for more on the shocking death of Dr. Brandt.