One wellness influencer angered a lot of her followers right now!
Folks who scroll on TikTok may have come across videos from the 37-year-old social media personality and nurse Janelle Rohner a time or two. She has spent a few years documenting her weight loss journey and sharing “What I Eat in a Day,” macro meal prep, and workout content with over 5.2 million followers on the app. Notably, Janelle also sells a macros 101 course for a one-time but hefty price of $200. She advertised this beginners class on her website as a tool to help count macros, insisting it “will literally change our life and the way you view food.”
Related: Kendra Wilkinson Says She Took Weight Loss Drug — For ONE SHOT And Then Quit!
From what her fans understood, Janelle lost weight through working out, eating right, and counting macros and created the course to help others achieve the same results. You can see her before and after pics (below):
However, what followers didn’t know is that she got a little help to shed the pounds from something else during her journey, that is until now! Janelle came clean to fans last week in a five-minute, teary-eyed video on YouTube that she has been using a GLP-1 to help lose weight over the past year! What! For those who don’t know, medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro are classified as GLP-1 drugs meant to manage diabetes but have become increasingly popular to help with weight loss.
According to Janelle, after trying everything from “keto, macros, workouts” to “lifestyle shifts,” she “started working with a doctor” and they decided to add a GLP-1 to her health plan. She continued to explain:
“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, and I don’t think other women or men who are using this tool should feel ashamed either. Because if there is a tool out there to help with your mental and physical health, you deserve to explore that without feeling guilty.”
After a few months on the drug, Janelle said she “lost the stubborn 10 to 15 pounds” and “was happy.” She then “switched to microdosing for maintenance” and “would maybe do a microdose once a month.” You can watch her full confession (below):
Since the big reveal, her followers have been very upset! And it’s not entirely because she took the GLP-1 drug. If that is what Janelle and her doctor agreed upon, and she was upfront about it from the start, that would be fine! Perhaps she would receive some backlash, but not on such a grand scale as right now. What they are pissed about is that she secretly took this medication for the past year… while profiting off a $200 course that she promises works to help people lose weight and achieve the same results she had. The lack of transparency is what they have a massive problem with! And at this point, she’s lost their trust!
People are labeling her as a “fraud” and “scammer” in the comments of all social media posts. Those who purchased the course are even demanding refunds. Check out the responses to her YouTube video (below):
“The issue isn’t about using GLP-1 or seeking help from a doctor for your mental health ,no one is upset about that. So please don’t use that as a cover. The real problem is charging people for a weight loss program while hiding the true reason behind your own weight loss something you don’t even seem to believe in yourself, which is why you turned to medication. You’re taking people’s money, misleading them, and not being honest with yourself either. That’s the issue. No one has a problem with others using the medication, because they’re not selling a false narrative.”
“As a fellow creator, I respect your right to privacy and completely understand that not everything has to be shared online. But when your business is built around weight loss and you’re charging people $200 for a course, transparency becomes part of the responsibility. Taking a GLP-1 drug while positioning yourself as a weight loss coach or influencer — without disclosing it — crosses a line. It starts to feel scammy, especially when people are trusting you with their money, time, and health journey. I hear you when you say it was about your mental health, but if that were truly the reason, the honest thing would have been to pause the course, step away, and let your community know you were taking time for yourself. Instead, people have been asking for months about your weight loss and were met with silence. That’s the real issue — not taking the medication, but choosing to stay silent while profiting off the results.”
“So your program was a scam? Are you going to reimburse those who purchased?”
“No shame in using medicine and seeking medical advice… but there is shame in knowingly misleading people for personal and financial gain.”
“There isn’t shame in taking glp-1. The shame is when you fool your audience into thinking they can look like you if they eat and exercise like you do. Disapointing.”
@cayleyxox learn from her mistakes yall ???? #fyp #glp1 #contentcreator #janellerohner
@sparklyclever Janelle made money by misleading people. I’m so disappointed #glp1 #janellerohner
Honestly, it feels like Janelle saw the backlash fellow influencer Remi Bader received when she hid her weight loss surgery from fans for over a year and hoped to avoid the same reaction. Yet it didn’t work!
On Thursday, Janelle addressed the controversy and apologized if fans “felt deceived” by her confession. However, she insisted she still stands by tracking macros, working out, and her courses:
“I’m not asking for sympathy, I’m just trying to do the right thing, and I’m trying to be honest. Now I could have kept this a secret, I could have gone on and on for years and not told, and I don’t want to do that. … The internet is such a scary place to be open and vulnerable. 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 my goals. And if people felt deceived by that, I really truly am sorry. I am willing to do a refund for anybody who has bought a class over the last 11 months.”
Good! In another video posted on TikTok Sunday, Janelle revealed she has already “refunded” anyone who purchased the course.
Sigh…
What are YOUR thoughts on the controversy, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments!
[Image via Janelle Rohner/YouTube/Instagram]
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