Life coach Jay Shetty accused of faking his monk story, plagiarising posts; Social media users react

Jay Shetty, an author and life coach with more than 15 million followers on Instagram, recently drove into controversy for allegedly faking and plagiarising his life story. Was it all lies that Shetty told his online viewers when he talked about his childhood days and spending time with Indian monks?

Author Jay Shetty. Photo Courtesy: Jay Shetty/Instagram
Author and life coach Jay Shetty. Photo Courtesy: Jay Shetty/Instagram

While his website adds to his bio that “His life took a remarkable turn when he received a last-minute invitation to listen to a monk speak”, these mentions are alleged to be false as per a report by The Guardian.

Was it all fake?

The media outlet slammed the author and said, “Shetty forgoes a life of material success to live as a monk himself,” while pointing out that people close to him have questioned whether his conversion to a life of monkhood was quite so dramatic.

“During his school years, Jay Shetty spent vacations living with monks in India, immersing himself in their wisdom and teachings,” reads Jay Shetty’s bio on his official website, but that’s something being argued and reportedly exposed with the claims that the story is fabricated.

Plagiarism

Apart from ‘faked’ content, the media report also suggests concerns about plagiarism. It reminds people of the case not too far, from 2019, when a social media influencer named Nicole Arbour addressed online that “Shetty built his social media presence by lifting content from other people.”

What did social media users say?

Amidst allegations of plagiarism and speaking lies about his life on social media, X users posted about Jay Shetty and the issue. People started to address him as a “con artist” and “fraud”. They said that this phase marks Jay Shetty’s downfall.

(The article is published under a mutual content partnership arrangement between The Free Press Journal and Connected to India)