On Sunday, we discussed the trash heap that is Tony Robbins. Robbins is a “self help guru” with fans around the country and around the world. He makes millions of dollars telling people to go for it or whatever cliche is popular at the moment. He is a con man, a snake-oil salesman, a Frankenstein-looking version of Gwyneth Paltrow. Over the weekend, a video from one of Robbins’ public talks went viral for all the wrong reasons. He told #MeToo victims – survivors of rape, assault, abuse and harassment – that they should stop telling their stories because they’re only trying to make themselves famous by taking down important men. He then physically intimidated a woman who challenged him, and he told a garbage story about how he knows a very powerful man who now refuses to hire pretty women because of #MeToo, and that’s supposed to be a cautionary tale for women: don’t be pretty, don’t speak, don’t view yourselves as a victim or ever speak about it if you are abused or harassed.
The scorn for Tony Robbins fueled the internet all weekend, and many suggested that we should take a deeper look at Tony Robbins, because he sure sounded like a man with a lot of sh-t to hide. Well, now Tony Robbins is apologizing. Sort of. I mean, he clearly apologizes, you just have to get through the name-dropping of his brand:
At a recent Unleash the Power Within (UPW) event in San Jose, my comments failed to reflect the respect I have for everything Tarana Burke and the #MeToo movement has achieved. I apologize for suggesting anything other than my profound admiration for the #MeToo movement. Let me clearly say, I agree with the goals of the #MeToo movement and its founding message of “empowerment through empathy,” which makes it a beautiful force for good.
For 40 years I’ve encouraged people to grow into the men and women they dream to be. I watch in awe as more and more women all over the world find their voice and stand up and speak out. All of our growth begins with learning. My own started with a childhood marked by abuse. I am humbled that others have looked to the path I have taken in the decades since as lessons in their own journey. But sometimes, the teacher has to become the student and it is clear that I still have much to learn.
I teach that “life happens for you, not to you” and what I’ve realized is that while I’ve dedicated my life to working with victims of abuse all over the world, I need to get connected to the brave women of #MeToo.
I am committed to being part of the solution.
I am committed to helping to educate others so that we all stay true to the ideals of the #MeToo movement. I will never stop examining my own words and actions to make sure I am staying true to those ideals. That begins with this brief statement but will not end until our goals are reached.
[From Tony Robbins’ social media]
Tony Robbins: *openly mocks victims of abuse, victim-blames women for being abused*
People: “Tony Robbins is a douchebag and he should be canceled.”
Tony Robbins: “I’m so sorry, I was abused too and I can educate the rest of you how to overcome all of this if you just pay me thousands of dollars.”
That’s basically it. Grifters gonna grift and all that, but maybe don’t look to Tony Robbins to educate anyone on empathy or dealing with abusive relationships? Maybe just keep him canceled, from now to infinity?
Life coach Tony Robbins says women are using #MeToo to make themselves 'significant' — but this brave sexual abuse survivor called him out pic.twitter.com/wYxhlmc10u
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 6, 2018
Photos courtesy of WENN.
No dude, just shut up.
Now.
Sure, I wonder what is going to come tumbling out of the closet about you!
any time a guy starts talking badly about #metoo, I immediately wonder what they have to hide.
I’m going to unleash my power within and forget this douchebag exists.
He can go f*ck himself. No one is buying his BS apology. He meant exactly what he said the first time 😒
Yep. If you don’t mean it, why say it in the first place? He’s been down here a couple of times selling his rehashed bull-schitt motivational programmes. I despise him. He’s a tw@t of the first order. I’ll bet he’s a mate of trump’s, too.
TR is actually a major presidential consultant. He was for Bush and Clinton. Not sure of Obama, but there were links enough to suggest he could have reached him in a personal setting no problem.
After the Lewinsky scandal it was said Clinton made 5 personal and private calls. TR was 1 of them.
Interesting, florc, I did not know that about Clinton calling TR…? lol
exactly
Couldn’t read it all because I don’t have my hip boots on to wade through all the sh!t.
The statement that women seek to “gain significance” reveals that Mr. Robbins believes they are insignificant. His masked slipped and he showed his true colors. The guy is a charlatan.
Yes to this.
He really comes across as smug and smarmy rather than enlightened. He’s another douche bro, they have each other’s backs. The only thing he’s encouraged these 40 years is how to seperate people from their hard earned money.
I find it so hypocritical that religious leaders, self help gurus and heads of “movements” like Co$ always have lavish luxurious lifestyles all funded by the masses. And these people sadly believe there life will be so much better by making these “investments”.
People your being hoodwinked!
Lately, I’m so tired of celebs/high power people/media people saying what they mean and then apologizing for it once they are called out on it. Robbins is not sorry. He just know his brand is in trouble.
I also dislike “women are finding their voices,” bc I feel like we’ve always had our voices but we were just never listened to or taken seriously. We’ve always spoken out and we’ve often made accusations in the past that have been dismissed or turned around to blame us instead of our abusers. He is infantilising women and still seeing them as the smaller, cuter, childish version of men, and it’s exactly this sort of thinking that is the problem. And I hate whenever anyone throws “I was abused,” “I had a rough childhood,” “I’m also a victim,” into their “apologies.” Because guess what, all of the women who are speaking out have been abused and have been a victim, and yet none of them have turned into sexually harassing, abusive assholes. It’s meant to gain him sympathy or to excuse his behavior, but it’s iust a manipulative ploy and it’s gross.
I didn’t like that he referenced his own abuse in his “apology.” I was abused too in my childhood, and guess what? I listen and empathize with people’s stories. He lacks empathy and is making cash hand over fist using other people’s empathy for him and his childhood. Gross.
TR’s closet right now 🚪☠️☠️☠️
But sadly, the people he is shoveling this shit to aren’t going to pick up on this fact. He plays onto to a certain type of crowd.
Where was the name dropping?
He had to mention the name of his workshop/seminar/whatever it was, instead of just apologizing.
Any apology he makes is crap anyway. Some of the methods he uses did help me decades ago, but if I need a refresher, I’ll be sure to find someone else’s work instead.
You described him perfectly. He’s part of the male problem with the #MeToo movement: doesn’t get it, uses it as a platform to talk about himself, then shames women for talking about their abuse experiences because it affects powerful men that abused them.
He’s only apologizing because of the backlash. It’s very disingenuous.
What a tool!
Sorry Lurch, no one’s buying it. Saying abuse victims are only speaking out to feel significant? They are significant you POS, snake oil salesman. I wonder what skeletons are going to come tumbling out of your closet?
This Richard Keel lookalike is only apologizing because it was hurting his grift, I mean, his brand. Yeah I think he’s got something to hide.
Lurch! 😂😂😂👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 You just won this thread. He is repulsive.
Say it Deanne! He grosses me out on so many levels.
No, no, no, don’t besmirch Lurch!!! He doesn’t deserve to be associated w/ Tony!!!
Yeah you don’t come back from that, bro. No amount of apologizing and backtracking can save you now.
Any man who thinks like he does has zero respect or appreciation not only for the #MeToo movement, but women in general.
Ultimately, Nancy McCool’s bravery in the face of his ugly, unacceptable behavior should be the takeaway from this, not the fact that Robbins publicly revealed himself to be the vile, misogynistic douchebag that many of us always assumed him to be.
I feel like it was even worse than a lack of respect for women or misogyny or being a douchebro. He essentially admitted what Pu$$yGrabber in chief said is true: his powerful male friends used to feel free to sexually assault good looking woman working for them without fear or consequences and the Me Too movement has cramped their style. Since they can’t help themselves from sexually assaulting good looking women, they are choosing not to hire them. So he is speaking out to support men as having the right to sexually assault women! THIS is what made other decent men go Ape$hit. It’s grotesque and criminal!! If I were the chief of Police in San Jose, CA I would be booking dude for an interview!!!
He was talking as if those powerful men were the victims. How sad.
This while they clearly have too much power if they deny more qualified women jobs because of reasons having to do with their dicks.
Isn’t it illegal to deny people a job over reasons like this, by the way? They should be prosecuted.
+1. This mentality is the kind of monster that’s created when males grow up constantly hearing about how women and girls need to avoid making themselves a temptation, target, or distraction. If you compare the coddling and enabling males have gotten when it comes to expectations around abuse and harassment to the way women/gay/bisexual people have been expected to control themselves enough to refrain from consensual, non-violent acts that other people have a problem with, it looks even crazier.
@Flan
Yes, totally illegal—gender discrimination (and in this particular situation he discriminated against her because he would not be able to sexually assault her without her reporting it). It’s impossible to prove though unless she recorded his conversation with Robbins or got a hold of the resume of the less qualified candidate hired. In general gender discrimination is tough to prove and experience in terms of high attorney fees. Solution: more female bosses or men who aren’t sexual predators/criminals. Also training our boys/boyfriends/husbands to report other men boasting of pu$$y grabbing. We need male allies.
Our goals? Is it suddenly “we” now? That was quick. His apology sounds both groveling and presumptuous, a rare feat. Maybe he should just shut up.
I interviewed at the “Anthony Robbins Foundation” a long time ago for a new media job in San Diego.
It was the weirdest most awkward job interview experience, two different employees told me they were quitting “because Tony Robbins pays horribly and is a jerk, don’t work here.”
That is just hearsay, but it happened…
I believe it. He seems like an awful person. You dodged a bullet.
That is some good tea you dropped here, I believe you 😉
I can’t get past his gigantic face.
To the evil black goo that is his “soul”?
Pretty much.
Acromegaly.
Tony, Tony, Tony… where should we start?
An apology that starts off with a plug for your program is not a real apology.
An apology that includes a humble brag about how so many people have emulated you and your journey… again, not a real apology.
No mention of the woman you tried to publicly dominate, humiliate, intimidate… So again, not a real apology.
And #MeToo is not just about women. You’re lack of understanding of the movement is writ large.
This whole thing is giving me a rage stroke.
Well said!
He is 100% canceled foreverrrrrrrrr.
He seems like a malignant narcissist. After listening to this woman, he immediately thinks about his “friend” who can’t hire pretty women because he can’t control himself, like a real grown-up person. So, his first train of though is ME, or “the poor dudes,” rather than offering any sympathy for women who have been abused and assaulted. Then, he seems to bully her by cutting her off and physically standing over her in a way that feels intimidating. Just an awful person.
Roid Rage.
How long will it be, before a man or woman comes forward to spill the beans about Tony.
He’s just a more coiffed giant than Andre the Giant, without the talent. Seeing how fearless that woman was when man was trying to intimidate her was inspiring. Screw Tony Robbins.
The part where he physically pushed back a woman – many steps – while telling her she was pushing back against him came off as so manipulative and gaslighting and abusive and awful that I had to click out of the video yesterday. Screw this con man.
Yes! This!! He used his fist to physically push’s woman away. He’s gross and horrible.
*push this woman
It was SO bad.
Wtf, I did not know this about him. EW! Honestly, I believe if you are going help people, or have some kind of mass influence on people, then you should be healed FIRST. He clearly hasn’t worked on himself via his abuse, and is projecting his disdain for women. Ugh, I will make sure everyone I know is aware of this awful part of him.
Has anyone else noticed that Kristen Bell has recently been posting quotes on her social media platforms from Tony Robbins and has been talking about what an amazing person he is? It will be interesting to see if she walks that back. I’m beginning to think Bell has had a lobotomy. She, too, is problematic with the #MeToo movement, but no one will call her out for it.
She needs to take her “hilarious” pin worms and scram.
Did she do that before or after he went on his rant? If it was after then yes, it’s gross that she’s fawning him like this right now. Kristen Bell isn’t someone I pay attention to though, so I don’t know if she’s done other things that are problematic toward the #MeToo movement.
Horrible person. Conman, BS artist to the extreme. I’ve never understood how anyone ever thought he was Not a conman.
And yes, I bet there is a ton of rotten info about him that should be made public.
Just watch the Netflix doc on him, and it becomes obvious what a creep he is.
Oooooh – thanks for the recommendation! Going to watch that RIGHT NOW.
I’m old enough to recall how Bill Clinton leaned on Tony Robbins during Clinton’s impeachment scandal. Robbins was smarmy then and worse now.
Robbins’ physically aggressive tactics to push back the woman who stood up to him said it all. He outed himself as a con, bully, and aggressor. His latest response I totally call BS on — everything is “I”, “me” — it’s still all about him — everything in that response is still first person.
He can’t erase that horrible clip.
Excuse me for my language but this made me so angry. I wish I could say this to his face.
FUCK YOU Mr Fake and everything fake about you!!
Who here ever listened to his crapola anyway? He’s ridiculous… always has been. All he’s done, imo, is properly illustrate his real self and that he has sexual misconduct hidden away somewhere. And the fact we’re all thinking that proves he’s always been a tall drink of phony because anyone claiming what he claims would know NOT to utter such nonsense in public or worse, actually believe it. Trust me. Those ogre paws of his have been and done unspeakable things, and he’s grasping for timber before the flood takes him.
Wait wait wait. This jerk physically intimidated Nanine McCool, mocked her, and .. he doesn’t even mention her name? He needs to apologize to her specifically. I hate that her signal is getting lost in the noise.
Agreed. Great point
Shyster says what?
His true colors are showing. They’re an Ugly shade of backtrack and panic!
I’m so tired of the apologies that only come after a hit to the wallet.
“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”
Maya Angelou’s quote is once again relevant, as it has been so often lately. I think most of us already knew he was a conman type, but this was very revealing on many levels. Can’t walk that back, can’t erase the clip, can’t con us.
I’m appalled that he put his hands on someone without their permission.
Here’s my issue with this.
As a survivor. As a female. As someone that is privileged and white. And it’s not to brag, but I’m attractive. It happens to us all. And you’re told to look within. Like it’s your behavior that sparked the flame. It’s difficult to process all of it. And this dude speaks to capitalizing every set back. So this. He markets. Never have I heard he was a victim until he could capitalize. Or to try and break up the waves because he told us he too was a victim and can empathize. Like this is a club with lifetime membership upon initiation.
He’s a charismatic monster.
I will never view my appearance as an invitation to be harassed or assaulted. Or that I cannot achieve my career progress because I’m “too pretty” or that I’m seeking to advance by way of falsely accusing a Male boss.
He showed himself. I hope he keeps talking. Keeps this alive. Digs deeper oi not that holen
He’s one step away from becoming the next Jim Jones. Maybe this will reveal what an evil, abhorrent and controlling person he is and people will stop enriching his lifestyle by giving up all rational thought and learning instead of handing over their money and brains to him on a plate.
Oprah has had him on her “Supersoul” discussions and it’s such a mistake. People, when are we going to read narcissists right?
Totally agree! But, Oprah fell for & promoted Dr. Phil, too.
I think everyone needs a class on reading cluster-b personality disorders & dealing with toxic people. This should be mandatory life-skills training. Some of these people have all the traits our culture admires (fame, money, looks, success, prestige, charm, or a “great personality,” etc.) So, it’s REALY easy to fall for their superficial charms, and before you know it, your life is a nightmare. I wish narcs would come with a GIANT RED warning label on their heads: “Caution: Bumpy Road Ahead: Proceed at Your Own Risk.” Imagine how much grief that would save? Ahh…well
Translation: this could affect my cash flow, so I’ll lie like a rug.
It’s kind of like Trump: hard to sympathise with his marks, because what he is selling is so glaringly disgusting to begin with, no decent person would want any part of it.
What a jerk.