Tony Robbins, life coach and self-help author, attacked BuzzFeed for “malicious intent” after the outlet published a piece accusing Robbins of sexual misconduct.
“We have evidence to prove that your reporters rejected and otherwise ignored factual accounts from several individuals you contacted. In some cases, those individuals were even harassed and lied to when their accounts did not align with BuzzFeed’s predetermined thesis,” Robbins said in an open letter Friday.
BuzzFeed released a piece earlier Friday which outlined Robbins berating rape victims and making unwanted sexual advances on women. Robbins denied that he had engaged in any of the sexual misconduct outlined in BuzzFeed’s piece.
“I have never behaved in the reckless, irresponsible, or malicious manner intimated by false, unfounded, and incendiary allegations suggested by BuzzFeed story-tellers,” Robbins said.
BuzzFeed detailed five different women saying Robbins had sexually harassed them either by pursuing them after they had told him no, making them work in his hotel room while he was naked, or in one case firing a woman after a consensual sexual relationship.
BuzzFeed also revealed based on records and transcripts from events that Robbins went on rants against survivors of rape and domestic violence, telling one rape victim she’s “f—— using all this stuff to try and control men.”
Robbins’ lawyer has “threatened legal action that would have a devastating impact on the financial condition of BuzzFeed and its investors.”
In 2016, Robbins was criticized after a “fire walk” over burning coals went wrong, injuring at least 30 people.
