Self-Help Guru Tony Robbins Blasted by Social Media Over #MeToo Rant

Tony Robbins has made a career out of inspiring other people to achieve. But the only thing his [...]

By Connor Casey

Tony Robbins has made a career out of inspiring other people to achieve. But the only thing his latest comments inspired was outrage.

Video of a seminar Robbins held in San Jose, California on March 15 resurfaced on social media this week. During his speech, Robbins had some critical comments regarding the anti-sexual harassment "#MeToo Movement."

"If you use the #MeToo movement to try to get significance and certainty by attacking and destroying someone else... all you've done is basically use a drug called significance to make yourself feel good," Robbins said.

During the seminar, Robbins was directly called out by audience member, Nanine McCool.

"Certainly there are people who are using it for their own personal devices, but there are also a significant number of people who are using it not to relive whatever may have happened to them, but to make it safe for the young women," McCool said. "So that they don't have to feel unsafe."

Robbins was unfazed.

"Look at these people and see what is empowerment," Robbins said. "Anger is not empowerment. What you're seeing is people making themselves significant by making somebody else wrong.

His interaction with McCool, a sexual abuse survivor, continued as she said he was doing a "disservice" to the movement with his comments. He went on to make the claim that some of his wealthy clients had admitted to being afraid to hire attractive women to their businesses because it was "too big a risk."

"I was made aware of this video BEFORE I ever saw it because Tony Robbins people reached out to do damage control within 24 hours. They wanted to 'give me context' apparently. I don't need any. I have eyes. The full video is 11 mins. And it's gross. Bravo to this woman," #MeToo movement rep, Tarana Burke wrote, applauding McCool's interaction with Robbins.

"Women are told our whole lives 'be pretty!!! be pretty or what good are you!!!!' so it's super cool for Tony Robbins to now add, 'but not so pretty no one will ever hire you!' What a fun, vague goal we'll never be able to achieve," Cosmopolitan writer, Lane Moore tweeted.

"For an influential life coach and media personality, Tony Robbins had the absolute stupidity to march up to and physically intimidate a sexual abuse survivor while belittling the #MeToo movement. A lot of people need a new life coach, methinks," healthcare columnist, Dr. Eugene Gu wrote.

"I've never understood the appeal of Tony Robbins...and it's always shocked me how many influential and powerful people rely on his advice..." New York Magazine writer, Yashar Ali tweeted.

"Tony Robbins is hugely influential, and I wish he'd shut up and really listen to what women are saying. No woman looks for 'significance' by being an assault survivor: they are looking for justice, fairness, opportunity -- all the things that Robbins claims to stand for," former Clinton/Gore adviser, Ronald Klain wrote.

Photo: Twitter/@TonyRobbins

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