How does a fashion influencer with no medical or nutrition qualifications bring down a $40 million diet empire, with only a phone?
asserted
influencer → bring → phone
Emily Gellis managed to do just that after accusing F-Factor dieting guru Tanya Zuckerbrot of poisoning people — while subjecting her to years of relentless online attacks, calling her the “scum of the earth”.
asserted
Gellis → manage → earth
The health and wellness business Zuckerbrot had spent 25 years building, drawing in New York’s elite and a celebrity clientele, was effectively destroyed.
asserted
Zuckerbrot → spend → elite
Now, after a six-year legal battle, Gellis, 40, has finally agreed to publicly apologize and pay Zuckerbrot $240,000, according to publicly available New York court transcripts.
uncertain
Gellis → agree → transcripts
“You don’t understand what I lived with,” Zuckerbrot, 55, said of the witch hunt.
asserted
Zuckerbrot → understand → hunt
“People watched my life being destroyed — to them, it was entertainment.
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it → watch → them
But this isn’t gossip, it’s my life.
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it → ’ → ?
Aside from her allegations about Zuckerbrot’s products, Gellis accused the mom-of-five of using drugs, failing to pay taxes and engaging in criminal activity — all of which was untrue.
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all → accuse → which
She told her Instagram followers, who now number 185,000, that Zuckerbrot was a “powder-pushing, money-hungry, disgusting, gaslighting, greedy woman”, who ran a “cult-like” operation.
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who → tell → operation
Zuckerbrot said Gellis ultimately posted more than 50,000 videos about her and F-Factor.
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Gellis → say → her
“You can’t imagine what it feels like to be hunted,” she said.
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she → imagine → what
“I couldn’t leave the house.
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I → leave → house
I would have panic attacks in the supermarket.
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I → have → supermarket
I thought the world was believing what was being written about me.”
asserted
what → think → me
The registered dietitian said she lost millions in business and ultimately spent more than $1 million on lawyers fighting back.
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she → say → lawyers
But the toll went far beyond money, as Zuckerbrot admitted the campaign left her suicidal.
asserted
campaign → go → her
“I lived with a cyber stalker,” she said.
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she → live → stalker
It all started in 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, when Gellis — who dubbed herself an “accidental activist” — began publicizing anonymous testimonials from followers claiming they had suffered serious physical and mental-health problems while following the F-Factor diet.
asserted
they → start → diet
She had never met Zuckerbrot.
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She → meet → Zuckerbrot
But in just 75 days, Gellis posted more than 4,500 Instagram stories and posts about Zuckerbrot and F-Factor, according to court papers.
uncertain
Gellis → post → papers
Gellis linked the products to everything from gastric distress and hair loss to panic attacks, UTIs, miscarriages and even death.
asserted
Gellis → link → attacks
She also alleged F-Factor’s fiber powders contained dangerous levels of arsenic and contacted the company’s retail partner Bloomingdale’s to warn that it was selling “poison.”
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it → allege → poison
Zuckerbrot, who has a master’s degree in nutrition and food studies from NYU, launched her F-Factor 20/20 fiber and protein powders and bars in 2018.
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who → have → 2018
According to court papers seen by the Post, the products were manufactured in a pharmaceutical-grade facility and tested for microbiological safety, heavy metals and the accuracy of their label claims.
uncertain
products → accord → claims
Within two years, Zuckerbrot said, the company was generating more than $1 million a month and had been valued at more than $40 million.
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company → say → million
As the controversy exploded in August 2020, Zuckerbrot went on the “Today” show and released a certificate of analysis for F-Factor’s chocolate fiber/protein powder.
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Zuckerbrot → explode → powder
NBC News had the document independently reviewed by two nutrition consultants, who said the trace amounts of metals, including arsenic and lead, were at safe levels.
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amounts → have → levels
“Anything grown in the soil, even organically … can contain trace amounts of metals,” Zuckerbrot said at the time.
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Zuckerbrot → grow → time
“It does not mean that they are not safe for consumption.
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they → mean → consumption
In fact, we have the highest standards of testing to ensure our products are 100% safe for consumption.”
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products → have → consumption
She added: “I do regret that we did not share this information sooner.”
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we → add → information
But the online onslaught continued.
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onslaught → continue → ?
“At first, we’ were ignoring her,” Zuckerbrot told The Post.
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Zuckerbrot → ignore → Post
“We knew our products are safe.”
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products → know → ?
Gellis went on to claim that more than 10,000 people had contacted her with complaints about F-Factor.
uncertain
people → go → Factor
That number would become one of the most significant issues in their eventual legal battle.
asserted
number → become → battle
Zuckerbrot revealed that evidence obtained during discovery showed that Gellis had fewer than 100 complaints.
asserted
Gellis → reveal → complaints
And Gellis, a married mom-of-two, has now acknowledged that her claims about the sheer number of purported victims were inaccurate.
uncertain
claims → acknowledge → victims
And reports of symptoms did not, without medical evidence, establish that F-Factor products had caused them.
asserted
products → establish → them
The allegations had become a national story, and the New York Times ran a major piece featuring Gellis posing for a glossy photo shoot, headlined, “The Great Diet Crash: A Crusade Against Tanya Zuckerbrot’s F-Factor Diet.”
asserted
Gellis → become → Diet
…and 32 more, not listed.
The Aporia
