Brittany Dawn Davies on April 25 settled a lawsuit filed against her by the State of Texas alleging deceptive commercial practices related to her past fitness influencer business, allowing the creator to grow her fanbase of followers. It put an end to years of debate about what it owes.
The 32-year-old, who now posts foster parenting and Christianity-related content on social media under the handle @realbrittanydawn, was scheduled to go to trial on May 15. A jury trial is an unusual public forum for influencers. Neither Davis nor her attorney responded to Yahoo Life’s request for comment.
Information about the amount or terms of the settlement was not disclosed. The attorney general’s office sought fines ranging from $250,000 to $1 million and legal costs.
Background
The lawsuit, filed by the state of Texas in February 2022, alleges Davis sold thousands of online health and fitness plans from 2014, purportedly for individuals ranging from $92 to $300. Davis has positioned herself as a health and fitness expert on social media, even calling herself an “eating disorder soldier” by which she has “special training” on the subject. trusted by the client. It’s not an uncommon tactic for fitness influencers. At least 14 of Davis’ clients had eating disorders that were not adequately addressed by the “personalized” health plans Davis sold to them, according to state filings.
In 2018, Davis’ customers began sharing their frustrations with her fitness plan in a now-closed Facebook group called Brittany Dawn Fitness Business Complaints. In February 2019, Ms. Davis referenced her complaint in her now-deleted apology video, saying she “would sincerely apologize for any damage” she may have caused. .that month she Good morning, America To take “full responsibility” for her “mistakes”.
Davis took a break from social media for a while, returning in November 2019 to announce a rebranding to Christian content, ending the era of responsibility.
“Fitness and health are no longer my identity. My identity is in Christ,” she said in the video.
But as of 2023, Davis is taking a different approach. on her podcast carved and calledshe identifies herself as a victim of “cancellation culture” and of society’s desire to “see influencers collapse.”
“The world watched me … During the fallout, I was labeled with every offensive, false and painful title imaginable,” she said on the March 22 episode. “Nobody wants to sue…but what happens? It happens. Life happens.”
what reconciliation means
The settlement may be seen as a frustrating outcome, especially after she withdraws her apology, but whatever the outcome, it sets a new precedent for taking influencers seriously as businessmen. It would have been
As it stands, customers are often ignored for supporting fictional narratives that can be very easily created by social media if they are not satisfied with the product sold by the influencer. The Texas lawsuit, which featured testimony of a dozen people who felt deceived by Davis, took their story as seriously as a brick-and-mortar business. But without a verdict, the lawsuit is unlikely to have widespread impact.
Dawn has long refused to speak directly to the media about her alleged deceptive commercial practices, but she has exposed what happened at Brittany Dawn Fitness both on social media and in a new podcast.
What are the characteristics of Davis
What makes Davis different from other influencers, aside from the fact that state attorneys general stepped in to investigate her business, seems to have successfully rebranded herself in the wake of the cancellation. . As a Christian influencer, she now appeals to an audience with a worldview that promises radical forgiveness for past deeds. At retreats she hosts for Christian ministry, she preaches the refrain, “You can’t cancel what God has called you.”
Some Christians have criticized Davis for using the favors of religious believers as a “weapon to get away from sin,” but she succeeds nonetheless. Her social media following has skyrocketed over the past year, offsetting the loss she suffered from the “cancellation.” During that time, Dawn amassed 1.3 million followers on TikTok and almost doubled the number of subscribers on her YouTube page, according to analytics platform SocialBlade. But now, a 40,000-member group on Reddit, r/BrittanyDawnSnark, is monitoring her behavior to criticize and hold her accountable.
A few months before the trial began, Davis ushered in a new era and began sharing content about foster care. Youth advocate and TikTok creator Casta Bowman, who frequently posts about adoption, said her two children in Davis’ custody were “not safe,” given her history of “illegal and worrisome behavior.” I’m terrified when it comes to welfare,” he told BuzzFeed News. Davis obscured the children’s faces and withheld details of the incident, but briefly referred to one child’s medical problems. Some expressed concern that such a large audience would affect her chances of being reunited with her biological family.
With the new flavor of posting, Davis’ new content and controversies could be forgotten, or at least unknown to her ever-growing audience. As an influencer in foster care, Davis positions herself as a hero, offering to help institutions in need of human resources and reform. As her Christian influencer, she targets her viewers who seek her forgiveness and quickly cast her own past aside.
She still posts gym selfies and uses affiliate links to entice people to buy the workout clothes she wears, but she creates PDFs of personalized exercise and meal plans. The days seem to be over. But that wouldn’t stop her from marketing her own lifestyle to her audience.
Is it really a bad thing for influencers to learn from their past actions and evolve? That is the goal of empathetic communities to hold someone accountable. But Davis isn’t just any person. She is an influential figure who wields power over vulnerable communities. Now that the possibility of her being held legally accountable for her actions has vanished, she has crafted a new narrative of herself about what happened in her fitness business, leaving her unscathed and unharmed. got the chance to go to
If you or someone you know struggles with an eating disorder, National Eating Disorders Association Hotline 1-800-931-2237.
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