TikTok Wellness influencer issues groveling apology after sparking fury over using weight loss drug
Wellness influencer Janelle Rohner is receiving backlash after admitting to, and then apologizing for, using a weight loss drug.
The 37-year-old TikTok star, who boasts 5.2 million followers on the app, created a name for herself in the fitness and health space after launching her account in 2020.
Earlier this week she revealed she's been using a GLP-1 medication, sparking fury as people demand she refunds anyone who purchased her $200 weight loss course.
The plan, dubbed Macros 101, promises buyers that it will help them 'experience food freedom and change your life.'
One person wrote online, 'Girl, if you want sympathy you better start giving some people their money back. Like, from the time you started the meds.'
Rohner, a married mother-of-two, issued a desperate apology with the YouTube title: 'I truly am sorry for anyone who felt mislead, I'm trying to make this right.'
Rohner didn't specify what drug she's been using, but the most recognizable GLP-1 brands are Ozempic and Mounjaro.
The confessional clip that initially ignited criticism was in response to a social media user who asked flat-out, 'Are you Ozempic or Mounjaro?'
Dressed in a bright, sky blue sweatshirt, Janelle appeared on TikTok in a 25-second outtake, stating, 'I have seen this question all over my page, on all of my videos over the last couple of months and let's talk about it.'
She directed followers to another platform, telling them, 'I recorded a whole YouTube because it is just way too long to talk about here.'
'I know that sharing this might open me up to judgment, but hiding it would mean, losing something important, my truth. And I owe it to you all to be honest,' the influencer wrote in the caption.
In the five-minute YouTube admission she spilled, 'I started working with a doctor, and we did decide to add a GLP-1 to my plan. GLP-1s are not magic.
'They don't change your lifestyle overnight — it's just a tool to help. I still had to show up: show up for my meals, track my macros, drink my water, go on walks, do my workouts — everything that I already teach and believe in.
'It just helped me regain a sense of control, and it's something that I don't want to be ashamed of.'
On Instagram, one person said, 'Wish you would have been honest from day 1. You were repping for the non GLP-1 girlies. Dang, girl'
A fellow nurse weighed in, 'As an RN and having struggled with post menopause weight, I am disappointed in you regardless of your title(s) or excuses'
Before coming clean, the San Diego-based nurse prefaced, 'If you've been following me for a while, you know I've tried it all — keto, macros, workouts, lifestyle shifts — and I have always shared what's worked and what hasn't.
'Lately, I've been getting a lot of questions about how I'm feeling, what's new, what's changed, and I don't want to avoid it. So here it goes: Yes, over the last year I have decided to make some new choices in my health.'
She explained that since beginning the GLP-1 meds, she's scaled back to a microdose.
'After a few months, I had lost the stubborn 10 to 15 pounds. I was happy. I switched to microdosing for maintenance, and I would maybe do a microdose once a month. I also paired those new lifestyle changes with something that was a real game-changer for me: I started seeing a therapist regularly,' Janelle opened up.
Her fans didn't hold back as they left critical comments across her various social platforms.
On Instagram, one person said, 'Wish you would have been honest from day 1. You were repping for the non GLP-1 girlies. Dang, girl.'
Someone else called the scandal 'disappointing,' while declaring, 'Another health influencer down.'
'You're only saying something because people keep asking. That's not the same as being honest,' another person reprimanded.
There was also a social media who took issue with the wording of the blonde mom's apology, writing, '"If people felt deceived, I'm sorry" versus "I'm sorry I deceived people." One contains ownership; one doesn't.'
And a fellow nurse weighed in, 'As an RN and having struggled with post menopause weight, I am disappointed in you regardless of your title(s) or excuses.'
Janelle offered to give refunds to anyone who felt misled: 'I still wholeheartedly believe in tracking macros and the workouts that I do and my classes. I did not take a GLP-1 because I don't believe in my classes and macros wasn't working.
'I did it for other personal and health reasons to use as a tool to hit mygoals. And if people felt deceived by that, I really truly am sorry. And I am willing to do a refund for anybody who bought a class in the last 11 months.'
In conclusion, she listed, 'Here's the facts: I track macros. I work out a lot. I believe in high protein. I believe in moving your body. And I also use a micro dose of GLP1 maybe once a month. And I am in therapy. And I take an anti-anxiety, anti-depressant medication, which has also helped me lose weight. So there's the facts. If you want to stay here and follow my journey and support me, I love you.'
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