Tony Robbins is one of the most famous motivational speakers and self-help gurus not just in American history but also throughout the world. He’s the author of “Shape Your Destiny,” “Inner Strength” and “Awaken the Giant Within” and also charges astronomical prices to see him in person.
He’s also in a whole lot of trouble after former staffers and fans accused him of sexual misconduct for years.
And things went from bad to worse for the self-help guru master after an old video resurfaced.
The Me Too Movement scandal took the nation by storm in late 2017 exposing a slew of big Hollywood and media stars like Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Louis C.K., Matt Lauer and Charlie Rose.
But it hasn’t stopped. Women are becoming more empowered to come forward and tell their stories of powerful people trying to do anything from sexually harass or as much as rape them – like many women have accused Harvey Weinstein of doing, of which he was charged with in Manhattan, New York.
BuzzFeed published a bombshell report claiming Tony Robbins was notorious for having a “highly sexualized environment” either on stage during his speeches – where no phones were allowed – or behind the curtains.
One part of BuzzFeed’s investigation read, “Interviews and records reveal how Robbins has created a highly sexualized environment in which both men and women have been told to touch themselves intimately and simulate orgasms — but he has repeatedly singled women out of the crowd for more personal attention. One secret recording from 2018 captured him laughing as he told a woman in the audience that he wanted her to ‘come up onstage and make love to me.’ And two former bodyguards told BuzzFeed News they were sent out to trawl audiences for attractive women on Robbins’ behalf. Two women told BuzzFeed News they had witnessed it or experienced it themselves.”
In response, Robbins fired back and wrote a letter claiming BuzzFeed’s investigation was “an inaccurate, agenda-driven version of the past, pierced with falsehoods.”
Or was it an “agenda-driven version of the past?”
New videos that resurfaced say otherwise where Robbins repeatedly used the racial slur “N—ger.”
The point he’s making is that he’s not using the word in a racially charged way. And to be fair, it could be taken wildly out of context.
Also, judging by his clothes and his age, this was likely done in the 1980s, but is that any excuse to justify using that word? Nope. Given the time you might give a little leeway but when he concludes, “just do what I do just for a minute if you really want to be free and if you want to have some fun. I’m a n–ger, you’re a n–ger, be a n–ger too,” then your message is a confusing because it’s not literally true.
Robbins lawyers responded in a statement that “The presentation was positive and was accepted in the context in which it was conducted: a passionate discussion about racism and how to rise above it.
And then also added, “any suggestion that Mr. Robbins is somehow racist or insensitive to the African-American community is absurd and false. Indeed, one of Mr. Robbins’ event partners for 25-plus years is an African-American.”
But they also had a similar thing to say about the sexual assault allegations against him as well. This Robbins ordeal will probably go on for a long time and it’s unclear how it will affect his career like it did with Spacey, Weinstein and Lauer, but it isn’t a good look.