Thanks to the #METOO movement, thousands of women come forward to speak out against sexual harassment, abuse and even assault. And for many, the #METOO movement is a much-needed and safe platform where women can speak out against the oppression they’ve experienced. However, internationally-acclaimed author and life coach, Tony Robbins, suggested otherwise last month.
On March 15, thousands of people attended one of Robbins’ Unleash the Power Within events, which took place in San Jose, California. During one of his segments, Robbins spoke about the #METOO movement. Yet as an world famous life coach, who has helped clients including Princess Diana, Hugh Jackman, Mother Teresa and many others, his comments on #METOO came as a surprise to some of his attendees.
A brave woman, named Nanine McCool, stood up to the towering self help guru, saying, “You’re a leader and an influential man and you are doing a disservice, in my opinion, to the #METOO movement.”
But what exactly did Robbins say?
During the event, Robbins claimed that “If you use the #METOO movement to try to get significance and certainty by attacking and destroying someone else, you haven’t grown an ounce. All you’ve done is basically use a drug called significance to make yourself feel good.”
While both Robbins and McCool acknowledged that some women may take advantage of the #METOO movement, this doesn’t apply to all women. Nonetheless, McCool didn’t back down. Following the event, Robbins’ comments created a backlash, with criticism from #METOO founder, Tarana Burke.
Now, almost a month later, Robbins is issuing an apology on Facebook, saying, “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.”
He continued by saying, “I teach that “live happens for you, not to you” and what I’ve realizes 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.”
