This MLM Influencer May get Someone Killed
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You guys probably already know I am not a fan of MLMs: five years ago I did a video all about them, but just to recap, MLM stands for “multi-level marketing,” and it’s sometimes known as network marketing. MLMs are basically like pyramid schemes that also sell a product, which allows them to operate legally while continuing to pull people in with promises of huge profits from “working from home” that rarely, if ever appear. No one really wants the overpriced essential oils, skincare, or shampoo you’re peddling, and so your best bet is to try to recruit people onto your “team,” and the best way to do that is to either go after your friends and family or become a social media “influencer” and convince random people on TikTok or Facebook to join your weird little expensive cult.
And I don’t use the word “cult” lightly – I think that’s one of the reasons MLMs really appeal to me as a subject. It’s a con, but it’s also a con perpetuated by a handful of people who profit off the work of loyal adherents who are controlled with false promises, love bombing, toxic positivity, and other forms of manipulation.
Back in January I became aware of one really successful MLM “guru” by the name of Jessie Lee Ward, aka Boss Lee or “@Imbosslee” on instagram where she has 318,000 followers. I find pretty much anyone at the top of a con to be detestable, but let me tell you, this woman is on another level entirely, pun intended. She’s a MONSTER. For instance, take the incident that originally brought her to my attention: a few months ago, she took 15 or 16 women on a “retreat” to Columbia. They thought they were going out on a 2-mile hike before returning to their villa, but instead they were forced to walk 10 miles under the hot sun and then made to sleep on a beach with an armed guard nearby. One woman was diabetic. She almost died I guess? And there were all these horror stories coming from these women and every anti-MLM channel on the internet was feasting on them, when “Boss Lee” hopped online and just…confirmed everything. Like “yeah I did that to them, I lied about what we were doing and then I tortured them on purpose, it ruled.” Okay, lady! Just normal non-culty stuff.
So yeah this woman is just extremely cringey and hateable and that’s not even taking into consideration what she’s shilling, which is Pruvit, a ketone supplement that has been the subject of several Prop 65 lawsuits for apparently containing lead. So that’s fun. Yummy lead drink. To learn more about Prop 65, go watch my video about it from last week!
Content retrieved from: https://skepchick.org/2023/04/this-mlm-influencer-may-get-someone-killed/.
