In its latest report targeting Tony Robbins, BuzzFeed News gave itself credit for allegedly getting one of the self-help guru’s book deals canceled, but Robbins’ lawyers say that BuzzFeed’s report is misleading.
The feud between BuzzFeed and Robbins began three weeks ago when the left-leaning outlet published the first in a series of accusatory reports on Robbins. After conducting a yearlong investigation into Robbins, who has made critical comments about the #MeToo movement, BuzzFeed has published a series of pieces containing accusations that he “berated victims of rape and domestic violence, while former staffers and fans have accused him of groping audience members, exposing himself to women assistants, and sexually harassing fans.” The outlet also posted and reported on a video from the 1980s of a young Robbins telling an audience about using the “N-word” in order to drive home a point to another group.
On Thursday, BuzzFeed published a new Robbins-themed piece on another apparent setback for the celebrity that BuzzFeed suggests its reports prompted: “Tony Robbins’ Book Has Been Scrapped By His Publisher,” reads BuzzFeed’s latest critical piece on the popular celebrity.
“Simon & Schuster dropped the book after BuzzFeed News revealed the self-help guru has berated victims of rape and domestic abuse, and former fans and staffers have accused him of sexual harassment,” BuzzFeed claims. The book, titled “The Path: Accelerating Your Journey to Financial Freedom,” previously listed a release date on Amazon of July 23, 2019, BuzzFeed reports, but now the release date reads Dec. 31, 2050.
As with BuzzFeeds’ other claims, Robbins’ lawyers are pushing back, saying the release of the book has simply been “postponed.” “To state or suggest otherwise is absolutely false,” his lawyers said in a statement reported by the outlet. “To be clear, Simon & Schuster has not severed its publishing agreement with Mr. Robbins,” his lawyers said.
The co-author of the book is Peter Mallouk, the president of Creative Planning, a $38 billion investment advising firm which recently parted ways with Robbins. Like the book, BuzzFeed has suggested that their reports have triggered the separation, but Creative Planning said in a statement Wednesday that the decision was mutual and in the works for months. The statement also addressed the book deal, saying its release has only been “postponed” and that the “contractual terms were never reached nor finalized”:
After several months of negotiation, Tony Robbins has exited from his advisory role within Creative Planning as the Chief of Investor Psychology, a role he assumed in 2016. Mr. Robbins will no longer hold a financial interest in Creative Planning, but he will remain a client and continued supporter of the firm.
“We’ve been negotiating an exit for six months,” said Peter Mallouk, owner and CEO of Creative Planning. “The parting between Tony and Creative Planning was imminent regardless and it was a mutual decision and amicable.”
The release of Mallouk’s expected upcoming book, “The Path: Accelerating Your Journey To Financial Freedom” containing contributions from Robbins, has been postponed. While the book was in the works, contractual terms were never reached nor finalized with its planned publisher.
As The Daily Wire previously reported, after BuzzFeed published its first report on Robbins, he responded with a statement on Medium post in which he wrote: “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.”