Self-Help Guru Tony Robbins Responds to Buzzfeed ‘Hit Piece’ Alleging Sexual Misconduct

Self-Help Guru Tony Robbins Responds to Buzzfeed ‘Hit Piece’ Alleging Sexual Misconduct
Author Tony Robbins and television personality A.J. Calloway speak during Tony Robbins' Birthday celebration and book launch at Dream Downtown in New York City on Feb. 27, 2017. (Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for DuJour)

Motivational speaker Tony Robbins is fighting back against the allegations of sexual misconduct that were reported by BuzzFeed News on Friday.

BuzzFeed published an article that begins with two sentences: “Tony Robbins is the world’s most famous self-help guru. This is the story he doesn’t want you to read.”

The article then continued on by putting forth these accusations: “Tony Robbins claims he has helped millions of fans overcome some of life’s darkest difficulties. But leaked records reveal he has used his fame to berate victims of rape and violence, while female former staffers and followers have accused him of inappropriate sexual advances.”

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We enjoyed our day in #Nashville — I love your passion, Music City! ????????????❤️ It’s wonderful to see your city THRIVING! Spending an afternoon with committed souls who show up willing to do whatever it takes to get the momentum needed to take their life to next level (whatever that looks like!) ALWAYS brings me great joy. Remember: Achievement is a SCIENCE but FULFILLMENT is an ART. ???? Want to shift YOUR FOCUS? Make the MIND ask better QUESTIONS. Like: ❓How can I ENJOY and APPRECIATE the gift of life EVEN MORE today? ❓How can we SERVE each other right now, and grow CONNECTED at a deeper level in this lifetime? ❓What do I want my life to be about? These are questions that will make for a meaningful life journey. I haven’t missed a seminar in 42 years. ????Because every time and everywhere on earth I have the privilege to take the stage, I am so grateful for the opportunity I get to serve the beautiful people we meet everywhere we go. ???? My dear friend @deangraziosi shared the stage with me here today at #NationalAchieversCongress so we flew out to Nashville together after launching a new partnership on Tuesday at Dean’s home in Scottsdale, Arizona with @russellbrunson, too. ???? In our very first LIVE online training for Knowledge Business Blueprint we had over 200K participants join us in our 2+hr interactive webinar. We’ve been staying up late and getting up early (like everybody who owns a business can attest.) AND! We still made sure to carve some time to enjoy the beauty that’s all around us, if only we choose to SEE it. ???? If you’ve been over-working your HEAD for awhile, don’t forget to come back in your HEART A radical change in your state will do it. ‼️GET OUTSIDE AND PLAY‼️We savored two hours basking in the beauty of the desert. ????⛳️ ???????? And then the next day we got to take in the fine folks of Nashville. If you’re a fan of self-education in the ARTS, SCIENCES, SERVICES, BUSINESS, MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS, HEALTH, or TRADE VOCATIONS and missed our live #MasterMind Class and want to catch the REPLAY — use the link in my bio.????????❤️ ✂️????????????‍♀️????⚽️???????????????? . Event ????: @hdperfectphoto

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In response to the article, Robbins published “An Open Letter to BuzzFeed Editors and Board of Directors from Tony Robbins” via Medium.

“This letter is one that I would have preferred not to write,” he opens with in the letter. “I have been the target of a year-long investigation by BuzzFeed. Unfortunately, your organization has made it clear to my team that you intend to move forward with publishing an inaccurate, agenda-driven version of the past, pierced with falsehoods. It is intended to disparage me personally, my family, my life’s work, and the efforts of the millions of individuals around the globe who have taken this journey with me over the last 40-plus years.”

Robbins then points readers to a YouTube link with Analay Souza Campos, who says that she was contacted by BuzzFeed to provide information for their article. Campos claims that BuzzFeed took pieces of what she said out of context. Having now authored her own self-help books, she says she relishes the time she spent learning from Robbins.

Robbins says that BuzzFeed denied him and his team the opportunity to present evidence of their own, since it would derail BuzzFeed’s agenda.

“After more than a year-long investigation by your online entertainment company, you allege that approximately 20-30 years ago — when I was in my 20’s and early 30’s — I was negligent with both my employees and individuals who chose to attend my seminars. You also allege (through anonymous sources) that I pursued conflicting intimate relationships. Your claims range from indistinct to ridiculous,” Robbins writes in the Medium piece.

Robbins continues, saying that Campos is not the only one of his fans to claim that BuzzFeed had chosen to distort their words. Robbins says his team has proof of this.

As for BuzzFeed’s motivations, Robbins cites BuzzFeed’s ranking as the least trusted news source, according to research from the Pew Research Center. He goes on to talk about BuzzFeed’s financial and other troubles motivates them to produce hit pieces in order to boost readership and serve shareholders.

He then makes clear his feelings about the accusations against him.

“Let me be clear, while my open-classroom therapeutic methods are not for everyone, and while I am on my best day still only an imperfect human being, I have never behaved in the reckless, irresponsible, or malicious manner intimated by false, unfounded, and incendiary allegations suggested by BuzzFeed story-tellers,” Robbins writes.

He then cites the harm in BuzzFeed’s policies that create a lack of journalistic standards at the company.

“Your organization cannot claim objectivity or journalistic integrity when your written ethics and standards policy claims that in ‘activism’ issues ‘there are not two sides.’ As we all know, in the context of a just democracy, there are always two sides,” continues Robbins.

He also cites the drop in journalistic standards as a whole and the pre-eminence of fake news, putting forward his own ideas for how society can move forward.

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Almost 40 years ago, I became obsessed with this question: ❓What is it that makes the DIFFERENCE in the quality of people’s lives? Why do some people simply TALK about a dream and never follow through, while others will work tirelessly and relentlessly to find a way to break through ANY obstacle that stands in the way❓ . I grew up in a volatile, lower-class home and was far from the most popular kid in school, so naturally, in the beginning, I believed that some people are just born lucky. They’re born into wealth, or their parents pay their way through school for them to learn, grow, expand, and be supported in achieving whatever outcome their hearts desired. . ???? But think about that for a moment — is it REALLY luck? . As much as you might want to believe that story — that some people just get a lucky lot in life — when you REALLY pay attention…that story doesn’t always hold up, does it? ???? . The truth is, when you’re handed everything in life and don’t have to work for it, you probably won’t have the same kind of relentless discipline and MOXIE as someone who MUST be resourceful, and scrappy, and DRIVEN to breakthrough — the kind of people who are HUNGRY to grow and become more. ????????‍♀️???????????? . And it’s not a hunger that comes and goes… The most successful people in the world are the ones who have an INSATIABLE hunger. Not just fair-weather dabblers, I’m talking about a hunger that NEVER goes away. . They will never settle for less than what they can BE, SHARE, DO, CREATE or GIVE. . ⚠️ For all of you #ENTREPRENEURS, #smallbusinessowners, and ANYONE who feels called to create something and serve, remember this: HUNGER will drive you through your fear of failure. Hunger will be your resolve when times get tough. It is the force that locks you into a commitment, it fastens you to the outcome when you’ve decided upon a result and you won’t sleep at night until you achieve it. ⚠️ . Hunger is IRREPRESSIBLE — it is one of the KEY factors that determines whether you are one of the many that simply *talk* about your dreams, or the few who actually ???? STEP-UP and take MASSIVE ACTION to make that dream a reality. . #smallbusinessweek #entrepreneurlife #smallbusinessw

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According to Business Insider, Robbins operates or is affiliated with over 30 businesses that make over $5 billion a year in sales.

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