- Tony Robbins has been accused of sexual misconduct by four more women, BuzzFeed News reported.
- The women came forward after BuzzFeed News published a year-long investigation on Friday, detailing how the self-help guru had berated victims of abuse and made unwanted sexual advances toward his followers.
- One former assistant and three former followers allege Robbins groped them, exposed himself, or made otherwise unwanted advances during the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s according to BuzzFeed News.
- In a YouTube video, Robbins has denied all allegations and accused BuzzFeed News of "flat-out lying."
- He also said that he "never claimed to be perfect" and is a"better human being than I was in my twenties and thirties."
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Tony Robbins has been accused of sexual misconduct by four more women, BuzzFeed News reported. The women came forward after BuzzFeed News published a year-long investigation from reporters Jane Bradley and Katie J.M. Baker on Friday, detailing how the self-help guru had berated victims of abuse and made unwanted sexual advances toward his followers and former employees.
One former assistant and three former followers allege that Robbins groped them, exposed himself, or made otherwise inappropriate, unwanted advances during the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s according to BuzzFeed News.
Kimberly Stokes told BuzzFeed News that when she worked as a live-in personal assistant in the late 1980s, Robbins once entered her bathroom while she was showering and "dropped his towel." At the time she was 22.
In addition to this incident, she said she had repeatedly denied unwanted sexual advances from Robbins that caused her to wonder if she "got hired for the wrong reasons."
"I was furious, because it broke trust," she told BuzzFeed News. "I don't bulls--t. If I said no, I meant no."
A woman named Lucie Galvez told BuzzFeed News that in 2001 she had an interviewed to be Robbins' personal assistant, but the meeting felt "sexually inappropriate, almost predatory." At one point, she said, he asked her: "How do you feel about nudity?" At the time, she was in her early 20s.
The accusations come in the wake of the #MeToo movement
Robbins is perhaps best known for his six-day "Date With Destiny" seminars, which costs as much as $8,000 per person. He also has an annual membership program that costs $85,000.
Former followers said Robbins behaved inappropriately at his signature self-help events, too, according to BuzzFeed News.
When she attended an event in Ohio, a woman named Mary Lantz said that Robbins sexually harassed her. She says that he kissed her, hugged her, touched her breast, and said that she was "driving him crazy." A woman named Sophia Koikas said that Robbins groped her breast and pulled her hand onto his crotch at a seminar in Hawaii.
Robbins has denied all allegations against him. In a YouTube video, he accused BuzzFeed of "flat-out lying." He also said that he is a "better human being than I was in my twenties and thirties."
"I've never claimed to be perfect and if there's anything I've ever said or ever done that, sincerely, that offended anybody, hurt anyone's feelings, or if they felt anything of that nature, I just didn't support you, I apologize," he said. "It was certainly not my intention."
In a statement provided to INSIDER, Jennifer Connelly, a spokesperson for Robbins, said the story is based on "alleged events from 20-30 years ago."
"Tony Robbins has never behaved in the reckless and malicious manner suggested by the false and unfounded allegations published by BuzzFeed," Connelly said. "BuzzFeed has manipulated facts and sourcing to present a false and one-sided negative narrative supporting its predetermined agenda to use Mr. Robbins as a convenient celebrity target."
The accusations against Robbins come amid the #MeToo movement against sexual violence, started by the activist Tarana Burke in 2006. The floodgates for the movement and cultural shift opened in 2017 after several women came forward in two New York Times and New Yorker articles to accuse the Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct; since then, more than 50 more women have come forward with allegations against Weinstein. Women have also come forward with allegations against some of the most powerful figures in other industries, including media and politics.
Read the full article at BuzzFeed News »
If you are a victim of sexual assault, you can visit RAINN or call its hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to receive confidential support from a trained staff member.
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