My Unfiltered Rant On The LuLaRoe Documentary

[@Starfire861]

“They drop the fact that they have 14 children… And that 2 of them are married to each other.” What what what what WHAT!?!?

[@daniboy9198]

O.o

[@jakuth99]

That felt glossed over

[@shannonransom5996]

They're both adopted, so legally related but not by blood, but... ick

[@ALu-nq8rf]

That was the least problematic thing about that couple. Honestly, i think it's weird, but one was adopted and it seems they didn't grow up together as siblings so i don't judge it too bad.

[@hypatiakovalevskayasklodow9195]

WAIT . 2of the children???

[@scarpfish]

Chelsea has a unique gift in intermingling a serious commentary with the appropriately timed F bomb.

[@JuliaJacksons]

What I was just thinking

[@Alexthomas735]

Truly.

[@thefinancialdiet]

;)

[@lucasolivdantas]

i knoooow right! and i always giggle when she drops them

[@lenaeospeixinhos]

It's a precious gift

[@pilarguerrero6891]

Also ironic when Amazon makes a documentary about an exploitative business model 🧐

[@vg7985]

Lol. Anything to make consumers happy and come for more.

[@luvzdogz]

Burn!

[@argusfleibeit1165]

Amazon could make a 10-part documentary about its own terrible business practices and about Bezos, and people would watch it, and it wouldn't change anything. People have opted into the whole thing with the convenience and free shipping, and only a Federal act of monopoly-busing would have any effect at all.

[@SoulfulVeg]

Right!

[@dixiech1ck]

Say that one again for people in the back

[@madamek288]

Chelsea woke up and chose violence and I'm here for it.

[@everydaycarrytools]

I keep being surprised that so much TFD content is viewed mainly by women. Us men are really missing out. Nowhere else do I get this level of deliciously eloquent humor and insight.

[@madamek288]

​@@everydaycarrytools Absolutely! I wouldn't be surprised if there was a subconscious bias here, perhaps men are drawn a lot more to financial content created by men, because of an assumption that they are 'better with money' or something. I don't have the answer as to why her audience is mostly women, but it wouldn't surprise me.

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

@@madamek288 TFD I believe only employs women and I think that as many women do make less than men (for whatever reason it may be), they want to promote better finance health to them/us. Not saying men can't watch the channel, but if guys are watching this and wondering why few men are featured or why they don't talk a lot about financial things men experience, that's likely why. Men are welcome but they're not the targeted audience.

[@hypatiakovalevskayasklodow9195]

RIGHT loving the vibe

[@kgal1298]

Those leggings also make me want to break things.

[@a.j.4644]

I think the takeaway from the number of women involved in MLMs is evidence for how difficult it is for mothers and other populations the labor force craps on to get meaningful work to support themselves and their families. Namely the lack of jobs that work for people with kids in school that ends at 3pm, part-time jobs with real wages and set schedules. Not the ones that demand you be available for shifts 24-7. The one woman I know in an MLM only joined after she left her professional job of 17 years to be home more for her special-needs twins. But her family still needed her to make some money, and she still needed to be with adults and have purpose. There are millions of women at all levels of education underemployed or unemployed because employers lack the creativity or long-term thinking to find a way to use their talents and skills.

[@Deenique16]

Right and those are the ones that get sucked into these schemes

[@rnm106]

Yes. I wish I could like this comment more than once

[@renatanovato9460]

That is exactly what Chelsea pointed out. Women are in a fucked up situation, the job market is shitty for most of us, however, mlms are not side hustle or a gig for moms to work from home. If your situation is real bad, why drag some in the same situation and just make it worse so yours gets a bit better?

[@millsykooksy4863]

Yes 🙌🏼

[@bascal133]

fact, A plus takeaway

[@mouseluva]

Chelsea's personal beef with the UGLINESS of those leggings never ceases to make me giggle

[@melindac3368]

They are the butt ugliest clothes I've ever seen. Hideous doesn't even begin to describe the garish and headache-causing patterns.

[@bilgegnome9308]

I know right? Who is buying these things in the first place?

[@walkawaycat431]

@@bilgegnome9308 They need to get their eyes checked. Hideous clothing. 😂

[@PaperRaines]

"No snowflake in an avalanche feels responsible" ~Voltaire

[@Tabbylover55]

Best comment ever!

[@meursaultscourtroom8886]

Using this. Thanks!

[@katherineholian917]

It's actually Stanislaw Jerzy Lec, but the sentiment is 100% spot on.

[@Sigma13X]

My takeaway from the documentary was how much these MLMs target mom's. Specifically, stay at home moms. I wonder if our society was more supportive of stay at home moms, if these schemes would reduce?

[@myrtlebeachsara]

My thoughts too, it shows stay at home moms want to be with their kids and bring in money. I'm hoping work from home options continue to grow for this reason!

[@articulatedkat]

Without a doubt - yes. I haven't been able to find statistics on this specifically, but just based on quality of life reporting, it's safe to say that the countries with 1+ years of mandatory paid maternity/paternity leave, see a lot fewer scam victims. One could even argue that if we were more supportive of parents in our society, these schemers would be cut off at the knees.

[@sarahuber8567]

They target mom guilt and suburban popular mom image.

[@jazminereed-clark9316]

"Go girl, give us nothing." HAHAHA this is why I love Chelsea so much.

[@vg7985]

She has good BS detector, lol.

[@thefinancialdiet]

And we love you, Jazmine! -C

[@LoHa13]

Please don't forget Roberta (I can't remember her last name but she is the blond lady). She has worked tirelessly to get women out and has not shut up about Lularoe and MLMs as a whole. She's made it her job and did a deposition for the washington state thing. I know this is an unfiltered rant but she has been instrumental in getting the word out and it should have been noted like the freaky family marriage thing. Oh and I loved that dude at the end telling us about Kelly Clarkson. Omg you could feel how betrayed he felt. I hope he gets his wish and they lose everything and get escorted out in handcuffs.

[@etherealclarity]

Roberta Blevins! She has an Instagram and Tiktok and a podcast where she talks about this quite a bit.

[@carriei7017]

She is amazing!

[@thursday48]

I feel like she's the one person who's come out of an mlm and actively tried to get the word and people out.

[@lindar5413]

Belvins

[@EmmiJade]

@Amanda Hartsell Courtney really, really lost me several times.

[@jazminereed-clark9316]

"Negatively. Badly. We don't stan." - a moment in time for us all

[@tas655]

girl live long and prosper Chelsea et al

[@SavvyGirl751]

I was a military spouse 2014-2019 and every single Milso that was involved with MLM was extremely predatory. You couldn’t walk on base without someone trying to sell you luluRoe and start a “business”. Worst is the amount of them that would pretend to be your friend then get mad if you wouldn’t buy their stuff, go to their parties, etc.

[@emmadenton1826]

I think there is a problem with trying to separate people out into 2 camps: victim or perpetrator. Human beings are complex, so people have the capacity to be a victim and a villain at the same time. I don't trying to sort them as one or the other, or put them on a sliding scale, is actually all that helpful. I think it actually discourages these women from leaving these toxic MLM communities by alienating them further. Besides I don't think it's even true. Being a victim doesn't make you incapable of committing that offence on someone else. We should think about what our goal is (having less people in MLMs), and what the best way to achieve that goal is. Even if it brings less personal satisfaction.

[@PaperRaines]

Policy changes on a federal level. Strengthen unions, implement guaranteed paid family leave, the equal pay amendment, covered child care services, and some version of either Medicare for all or an improved Obamacare If women, with their children and/or potential children, had better economic options and better protections that are needed just for women, they wouldn't be resorting to selling leggings, or weed grass, or supplements, or any other bull---- to their friends and families on social media This is a societal failure, the root of all of our issues nowadays

[@jessip8654]

Indeed. And a lot of the women seemed quite remorseful too. We won't get anywhere shaming women who are trying to escape the MLM cults. Else we're no better than the cults themselves.

[@dflehrman1]

I agree with this. I spent four years working for an MLM-style door-to-door sales company. The brainwashing is very real, and although I did see lots of evidence against the company during my time there, I was incapable of understanding it for a long time. It's difficult to understand if you've never been in that position, but I truly believed that the opportunity I was selling was real. We were brainwashed into thinking that naysayers simply didn't understand the nuance and opportunity of our business. That being said, I do accept blame as a perpetrator as well as a victim. I have a lot of regret for my role in recruiting people, and I do think it's fair to expect some level of remorse from people who participate in these schemes. Fully agree with what you are saying. Being a victim and being a perpetrator are not mutually exclusive. But shaming people won't help. It's scary enough trying to leave a cult like environment when you've been brainwashed into thinking that you could never live a good life without it. When you finally leave, it's like waking up and seeing the world with clear eyes for the first time.

[@wanderingsyllogism7002]

So well said! Thank you!

[@elaineisxyz]

I agree. From what I could tell of the relatives who got into MLM businesses, roping other people in is sold as empowering them to then change other people’s lives (by roping others in). The quirk of MLMs is that you still have product to sell, and you can often get people in your circle to buy those products without becoming sellers themselves, so that it does in fact feel like you’re a “small business owner” who is getting a surprisingly hefty commission for convincing friends that what’s worked for you will work for them too. In China, MLMs are banned. Amway sellers are not allowed to get paid to recruit more Amway sellers. So, funnily enough, someone hawking Amway products is in fact just hawking Amway products. There are still some who do it, they’re just more legitimately part-time sales people.

[@heathercameron1485]

AntiMLM creator here chipping in. I think it's great to hear your take on the doc, especially being a larger channel. I do think it's a bit harsh though to not allow former consultants any redemption or forgiveness. Just like cult members, there is a lot of brainwashing involved and many, even those at the top, genuinely don't see the harm that they are doing. One former consultant in particular now does a lot of work against MLM's and awareness raising. Another former top consultant has a great KZbin channel where she brings awareness to the evils of MLMs. So to brand them all as just all bad people is actually unproductive and unfair. The online antiMLM community welcomes all former consultants, no matter their sins because if we don't give them a second chance, how else are they going to find work and a life outside of the cult?

[@jeffengel2607]

It's important to be able to get people to understand and accept it when they've done wrong, but yeah, the point of it is so that they can do some repair and do _better_ going forward. There's still that need when they did wrong with compelling reasons or excuses at the time. Utter personal rejection isn't particularly helpful toward that end.

[@heathercameron1485]

@@jeffengel2607 Yeah, tbh Chelsea's attitude was borderline hateful. I get why she's angry, but her attitude does not help and I'd argue harms the antiMLM movement because we are a movement of incredibly small creators with the exception of the iilluminaughtii and Chelsea is using her large platform to just spew disgust without actually suggesting any real solutions. We want people to leave MLM's which means a level of redemption and working together. Many people genuinely regret being in MLMs, even the ones at the top.

[@jeffengel2607]

@@heathercameron1485 She _did_ make clear it was an unfiltered reaction. I don't want to condemn the anger behind it by any means, but it certainly can be unhelpful and what really IS needed is help - however much the anger is jumping around with hand raised wanting to get picked.

[@heathercameron1485]

@@jeffengel2607 Yeah that's fair it was pretty much a rant, but I feel it's a little irresponsible with the size of platform she has. I felt the need to jump in because I know one of the women really does a LOT of speaking out against Lula Roe, not just taking part in docs, but collaborating with other antiMLM creators. So to just label her as a problem and a bad person was super unfair and mean.

[@Salv-a-13]

Admittedly, I had a very HARSH, unforgiving view on people in MLMs originally… but after listening to former MLM reps share their experience, I have sooo much more sympathy for some of them.

[@GenXennial77]

If you listen close, the one girl Roberta Blevins wound up helping a ton of people get out of LLR and she’s become an anti-MLM advocate. I’ve listened to her podcast and I think she’s a success story of how a bad situation can be turned into good for these women.

[@jennyxgirl3]

I love Roberta! I follow her on TikTok. She's my favorite. She's done so much to help people from joining MLMs and advocating against them.

[@rosem5044]

Call me cynical but I think she wrung as much money out of Lularoe and her downline as possible - quit when it looked like money was drying up - and now she’s found another way to turn this into a money stream.

[@jennylukasik625]

@@rosem5044 my thoughts exactly. i also am not a fan how anyone who disagrees with her, instead of her debating, she just yells and calls them names. pretty immature.

[@articulatedkat]

Heard her on Scientology and the Aftermath, and moved this doc to the top of my queue. She is a bright shining example of what it takes to recover from high-control groups, and how the catharsis of helping others never truly wipes away the guilt. She's also an example of how people can devote their entire life to righting the wrongs of their past, and still have that work treated as performative by the willfully uninformed public - folks who can't be bothered to actually learn about the recovery processes from this kind of experience, before judging if someone is legitimately engaged in said recovery.

[@elena_1776]

While I agree that morally participants in MLM bear some responsibility, I'm not sure how useful shaming them is in terms of getting people to leave MLMs. There's already a "bully" narrative that MLMs use to keep people from listening to anti-MLM content, and I think just berating people for ever having participated isn't going to be super useful in getting people to leave/listen.

[@coloradokittenfoster7459]

I agree. They were exploited and victims in this system, too, even if they aren't 100% innocent.

[@reginaadair5168]

Near the end she talks about the abundant amount of copy on the internet about how bad MLMs are. Yet people just KEEP ON signing up! Stop! No shaming. Just a wake up call!

[@tomlxyz]

I think it is necessary. Once you recognize you can only make enough if you get others in the position you know isn't making you enough you ought to leave, not do that

[@etherealclarity]

Chelsea - I think you overestimate the general cultural level of understanding about what MLMs are, what defines an MLM, and how to identify one by looking at it. I think you and I have a similar exposure to all of the information and dangers about MLMs, but I have friends who still have absolutely NO idea, have invited me to "parties", and are shocked when I send them information. If you're in a certain kind of financial/emotional position and you're shown a potential opportunity by someone you trust, and when they have pre-prepared answers ready for "but are you a MLM/pyramid scheme?", and everyone is friendly and warm and welcoming and excited for you to come on board, it may not occur to you to dig deeper. And I think that even within those kinds of MLMs they are given very cultivated information diets and led to believe that anyone CAN be successful in that company. And as you mentioned early on, a lot of these places function effectively like cults, making it SUPER difficult to leave once you're already in. I'm not saying we shouldn't hold people accountable for their actions, especially when those actions are super harmful. But as someone else in the comments said - people are complex. It's not a matter of the heroes versus the villains - people can be capable of causing great harm AND also be worthy of compassion, and we should hold them accountable while ALSO extending them some understanding when it is warranted.

[@magnoliarose5910]

Hate MLMs and love your comment 💛. Chelsea correctly describes MLMs as a cult. As such, what are cults good at? Brainwashing and control.

[@arelieurbina7802]

This comment 💯 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 (but I also totally get Chelsea’s indignation)

[@grenbaygrl1]

Yes! I thought it was weird how she went from describing MLMs as cults (inherently manipulative, brainwashing, discourage all members from questioning the authority) and then goes on to shaming women who fell for the brainwashing. Like yes, recruiting women into MLMs is bad, but the women were constantly fed messages that they were helping others. Plus I don't think the women need any more shaming because life has pretty much punished them already for their actions. The woman who got divorced, lost her house, and got her possessions repoed does not hide the fact that she was to blame for how her life ended up. If anything, I give these women a lot of credit for being so vocal about their mistakes and opening themselves to criticism to take down the companies they used to work for

[@magnoliarose5910]

@@grenbaygrl1 love your comment. 💛

[@grenbaygrl1]

@@magnoliarose5910 I loved your comment, too!

[@onionwarrior7447]

The fact that the two children marrying each other wasn't the worst part of this story really says a lot. 💀 (for those who are curious, they're both adopted - separately - and so aren't related by blood and may not have been raised as siblings)

[@stonecake313]

Ohhh ok, lol. I forgot adoption was a thing for a moment and thought blood siblings actually got married. I ran to the comments for an explanation haha

[@Yajairad]

Thx for clarifying because I was very confused! 😩

[@mrsx7944]

They were raised separately. It doesn't seem like a big deal to me 🤷‍♀️

[@RebeccaStropoli]

It seemed like they didn't even meet these "kids" until they were adults. Some kind of bizarre story that may not even be adoption. They definitely were not raised together as kids.

[@TacosYBurritos8P]

@@mrsx7944 lol and not to them either!

[@alejandrosanchez2476]

“What the fuck are these leggings” is my new favorite phrase.

[@kealynbosrock9905]

I won't lie though, my mom bought me a pair with pictures of presidents all over them and they are so hideous and I wear them every time I go vote! 😂

[@Iquey]

I'm curious where they even... Freaking CAME FROM??? My guess is rejected childs sports polyester deadstock in Asia.

[@louise-yo7kz]

🤭

[@heatherh.1501]

This video was a miss for me. If former participants in an exploitative system have to pass an ideological purity test before they can call out the abuses of said system, then we're going to be waiting a long time for justice. The critique also ignored the systemic factors that push women, often the primary caregivers for children, disabled family members, and elderly parents, into affiliations with MLM schemes and other work-from-home opportunities with, shall we say, questionable business ethics. Mike Rinder was high up in Scientology and is on camera doing and saying some ethically questionable things before he left and joined Leah Remini in exposing this cult's abusive practices. Should I ignore everything Rinder says because he was a one-time, high-level participant in Scientology?

[@ajqueen31]

Thank you, I agree.

[@msjannes75]

I don’t think that is what she is saying at all. She’s just making the legitimate point that many of these women are BOTH victim and perpetrator. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t listen to them, it just means right now there is enough information out there for women to know better, some do, and they still have no moral twinges of guilt for roping in other women and watching them suffer financially for it. If that happens, how do they not also deserve to be called out? Many of the women lost big time on this, and other MLMs because they were brought into it by other women. These women can’t just cry victim for themselves without having to acknowledge that the women they recruited were their victims. I’m not saying paint a scarlet letter on them, but we shouldn’t let them get off scott free or as a society we’ll never grow beyond our mistakes.

[@sha8photo]

Agreed.

[@MsBrendalina]

@@msjannes75 maybe. But the way she presents her point in the video is grossly insensitive towards women who were roped into MLMs because they were desperate. If whistle-blowers are going to be subjected to being treated like perpetrators on par with the company CEOs, that just makes it harder for the women higher up in the company to leave and speak out

[@MaleOrderBride]

Thank you!! Chelsea is victim-blaming!

[@Chalicechick]

I am torn because Shae is obviously one of the people this applies to, but her line about not wanting to go on a cruise with a bunch of white people is my favorite thing in the whole doc.

[@jigglypuff4ever]

Same lol

[@tobalinac6781]

I liked Shae. You can't help but like her. Raw unfiltered honestly, I guess.

[@VelvetCondoms]

I propose that she get a reduced sentence of community service, and her community service was entertaining the public with that iconic moment.

[@amywilson7540]

I know! I also liked her story about wearing Chanel to the LulaRoe office.

[@articulatedkat]

I wouldn't ever call Shae one of these people. She took a job, that might've looked weird, even shady at times. But saying that she believes they knew what they were doing is not the same as saying she participated in, or knowingly abetted in their crimes. Plus, in addition to the funniest line in the doc (as you mentioned), she has the most important line too. "You guys should be held accountable, whether you be sued or whether the story be told. 'Cause remember, you started in the trunk of your car. So you never forget, you was just selling skirts sweetheart, out the trunk of your car. And then, now look at you. So the least you could do is show the people that put you where you are some respect." The arrogance of the successful business owner, who truly believes he/she alone is responsible for that success, is one of the most destructive forces in our society. LLR's success is not evidence that LeeAnne and Mark are better business people than their former sellers - the widespread failure of those sellers is evidence that they were misled. And even if somehow LeeAnne and Mark had only misled them unintentionally, they are still refusing to actually take responsibility and show those people the respect they deserve. And then they have the nerve to act hurt and offended that anyone would speak out against them. People like that are malignant narcissists, and will only cause more harm if they're given the opportunity to.

[@ElfInTheFlowers]

I watched the documentary last night and have a different take for the following reasons: 1. One of the women did express profound guilt and regret at hurting others when she realized what she was doing. 2. There is cultic mentality. Most of the people in mlms genuinely think they are helping others, it often takes years to deprogram and a lot of trauma and guilt involved. This was mentioned but there wasn’t room in the already 4 part series to explore it more. 3. I believe the burden is with the government to make these things absolutely illegal and actually enforce their very weak policies (or better yet change them) at a federal level. Many of the huns stated “but this is legal”… if they were made aware of the illegality of the companies’ actions many would back away quickly. This is a nuanced topic because this system (nxium was an mlm as well) uses cultic manipulation and does turn the victims into the victimizes to perpetuate systemic abuse. Anyways, my two cents. I get the fury though. It is super frustrating.

[@licerazob]

Love your comment. I'm currently into the anti-MLM content and found one of the ladies from the documentary: Roberta Blevins. I have learned A LOT about MLMs and yes, you are right the cultic mentality and the governement role is sooo important to "take down" these "businesess". There is a lot of information about congress people receiving money from MLMs for campaigns and some that are part/founders of others, so... yes the "huns" must be held accountable but the problem is bigger. Roberta herself shared during the documentary that she has help at least the 75 people to get out of MLMs (the same number she recruited). So some of them are taking responsibility seriously and trying to change things with the information they have.

[@kerynl.sanchez9891]

Exactly, it is a cult, a lot of them are involved with religion too and that makes people easy to be manipulated and targeted 🤷‍♀️

[@WhyThisWhyNow]

When I resigned from my first job and had a small chunk of money coming to me, I had three different ladies, all with full time jobs, come to me to talk to me about an ‘opportunity’. Man, they were so sold on the dream! I don’t even remember what those MLMs were but I saw them continually posting about that shit for years on FB. They completely disappeared after about four years though, now that I think about it…

[@deirdrebeecher3508]

Yes I live in the EU and MLM's don't exsist here. Pyramid schemes blow up every now and then, but at least if a family member gets sucked in you can go to the police about it.

[@RobertaBlevins]

@@licerazob i lost count at several thousand helped. If we use my numbers to gage who I’ve helped educate about MLMs, it’s past 500k 🥰

[@acivilright]

I have a friend who not only got roped into LulaRoe and tried to force it on me, she is now roped into an additional two MLMs. Clothing again and jewelry. It really wears on our friendship.

[@cv8499]

I bet! I've had friends in MLMs, and it's all they talk about, because they have to be selling constantly, or bringing new people in, in order to make any money.

[@de.cadence]

Just like cults, it can be really, really hard to realize, acknowledge and process that you have been part of something bad. The process can take years for some people. I type this as a woman raised in the Mormon church (no longer practicing), and it's so important to understand how much socialization goes into a wider culture and attitude to disregarding "negative" people and naysayers. A lot of the women roped into Lularoe or any other MLM won't ever have HEARD the term "MLM" before, they will be surrounded by people they trust, and those people and even authority figures will classify any criticism or dismissal as hate/persecution. Which of course, reinforces the faith in the community/brand/product. And the kicker is that the good faith types go much further up the pyramid than most people would think. The ability for the human brain to continuously convince itself that something that is self-evidently bad is Good Actually (tm), especially if you include the sunk cost fallacy, is incredible. Mormon culture, american culture at large and MLM pressure culture all lean heavily on the idea that any failure is YOUR fault and if you just work hard enough (and have enough faith, if you will) then you will be successful. I'm not trying to defend predatory behavior at all! But having lived in, left, and regularly examine and comment on that culture, it's possible for people to refuse/fail to recognize their own role in a toxic organization for a long time. Because once you do...you have to confront a lot of things about yourself and behavior that are difficult for any human being to process. I guess I see a lot more victims than perpetrators in this combination of patriarchy, religion, and capitalism.

[@DeDraconis]

I always mix up Lularoe with Lulu Lemon and try to point at the stores and say: "Look a pyramid scheme," and then my female friends yell at me for saying the same joke every damn time.

[@hollysmith7828]

That’s the point, it’s the same with It works! vs This works!

[@Psychwriteify]

@@hollysmith7828 Also: It Cosmetics

[@ffflustered9qr]

My boyfriend is WFH and he watched the whole thing in one sitting, live-texting me his reactions. I love him so much.

[@AskMiko]

I love it when men dig in on topics that the mainstream media pushes to media and provides their commentary along the way! Exciting dialogue, indeed

[@lorettaholland2388]

That is definitely my idea of a good time! 😜

[@certior]

Just like the lovable chimney sweeping John Oliver, you’re so much better when you’re actually infuriated about a topic :)

[@mb4401]

I didn’t get this comment. How is he a chimney sweep? I love John Oliver what am I missing 😢

[@laurenconrad1799]

@@mb4401 John Oliver sounds like a chimney sweep, like one from Mary Poppins. He has made that self deprecating joke on his own show about himself. 🙂

[@dantichri5t]

@@mb4401 Also, there's a brilliant episode of his brilliant show on MLMs :-) "Multilevel marketing: last week tonight with John Oliver"

[@laurenconrad1799]

1:58 "He looks like Glenn Beck if he went the machine in the fly with a beet." These comparisons feel like something John Oliver would say and I am loving it. lol

[@supernova622]

I had to pause the video to ugly laugh

[@Deenique16]

Paused when she said their two kissed are in an incest marriage

[@scarpfish]

Determining how culpable people in the middle to lower tiers of MLMs is tricky. We have a great deal of our populace who have terrible critical thinking skills when it comes to their daily functions with money. They make perfect marks for MLM schemes.

[@magnoliarose5910]

While I vehemently abhor MLM’s, I do agree with your statement. The sense of “belonging” and how it is made to seem vs what it actually is by someone who is your well-intentioned friend or acquaintance whom is duped themselves can be very smoke and mirrors. I cannot tell you how many friends I have that are smart, have advanced degrees, and are very loving and kind hearted and still get roped into these schemes.

[@tinabean713]

Right. I have known a lot of people to get into these, from just doing Mary Kay to get discounts and mayyybe make a little money, to really going whole hog like LLR pretty much forces you to do with their weird ordering and inventory system. My sister just discovered LLR a year or two ago and basically bought a whole wardrobe from another base mom while her husband was deployed. She was so into it I legit feared she might join.

[@irinaphoenix2169]

I understand what you're saying about the former consultants, but if you say it doesn't matter whether anyone changes, then what's the point? It matters - it matters SO much when people begin to see the humanity of the people who live with the consequences of their selfish actions, even if they don't have a fully fleshed-out perspective on their role in things. And anyone who has come to believe that their profit justifies other people's sufferings is a victim of so many toxic aspects of our culture.

[@d14551]

Right on, Chelsea! Being a victim of anything does not give me the right to turn around and do the same thing to others.

[@grenbaygrl1]

Ok but that mindset towards the LuLaRoe defects doesn't do anything to help bring down LuLaRoe. First, a big reason why LuLaRoe has gotten such a large critical spotlight on it is because so many former mentors went very public with their experiences at the company. I don't get why Chelsea is so adamant that these women need to be "held accountable" when shaming former MLM retailers would only discourage them from sharing their experiences and encouraging current retailers to leave. And besides, the cult-like message within MLM companies like LuLaRoe is "we support you, and you are doing great work that is helping other people. Outsiders are just haters who want to bring you down" so being overly critical of former consultants only plays into that message. The best thing to do is educate with grace and allow folks to come to the understanding that the company was feeding them lies

[@thephilguy1]

The Venn diagram of MLMs and cults definitely has a *LOT* of overlap in terms of emotional and behavioral manipulation, i.e. on the BITE model, and actually we need to talk about this connection more. The reason why we don't see people calling out scammers on their socials is not that it's not happening, but (a) because of the manipulation strategies those people employ + (b) they actively police their comments. I've seen so many influencers/scammers either delete any comments they don't like and block the posters, or they prime their audience to see any form of legitimate criticism as "hate", and just to "ignore the haters". It's not that the discourse around scams and MLMs isn't mature enough, the problem is that it is almost entirely a futile exercise to deal with these people, just like arguing with political trolls online. You have to completely expose the scam for what it is and destroy their income by making sure people steer clear before it's too late, because a lot of these snake oil vendors refuse to accept any responsibility for what they are doing - they just prime their victims to believe it's their fault if they lose money.

[@heidimcdonough378]

The fact that you compared this to “the ring” is so perfect. Humans will throw each other under the bus if it saves their own skin. Man.

[@lolitamorris2943]

I hate MLM’s , my parents were Amway distributors back in the 70’s and 80’s and was very very hard on us , the kids … no privacy at the house and long long hours without our parents And the “ positivity culture” I saw the entire documentary 👀

[@sophiarodriguez3706]

Ah, Amway, the OG of MLMs. My mom got roped into that BS, and it was ugly. The “positivity culture” of MLMs is infuriating, too!

[@kgal1298]

My mom did that too, but our house was not suitable for people cause my mom's messy so I had that going for me. The products were alright, but Amway also makes most of it's money off of it's materials it sells to train those people and not the products. Also I'm from Grand Rapids so that stupid damn Amway sign just kind of stares at you next to the DeVos name and let me tell you no one likes these people in GR.

[@vg7985]

I am actually jealous of sales skills people have. I can't sell water in the desert without losing money.

[@cv8499]

@@sophiarodriguez3706 My mom almost got roped into Amway too. What appealed to her were all the positive affirmations they made them repeat before they ever mentioned selling products. She came home with a ton of tapes she had to listen to, basically all about living your best life and living without fear and blah blah blah. She ate that right up. Thankfully, she jumped right out when they finally told her the buy-in cost.

[@heartflyte4697]

My parents, too, Lolita. In fact now I'm wondering if we might have been in the same hotel ballroom doing a "children's activity", which was a Disney movie (Cat from Outer Space), a couple of teenage babysitters, and at least 100 kids running amuck in the dark, while our parents were at "The Rally" hearing speeches about dreaming big and songs about Crazy Circles.

[@astrea79]

Thank you!!! Everytime I watch these "I got rich/suckered into an MLM" videos or articles im always left wondering if these women who took advantage of other women regret their part in all of this. Sometimes it's implied, like the woman who divorced her husband during her LLR follow-out. Or the couple who roped in their nearest and dearest family and friends in their downline. I'd like to hear more about that regret or any regret they have for scaming people they weren't emotionally close to.

[@mambowumbo]

oh sure they do. i watched a video about lularoe before but can't remember the title. this woman had stepped out from lularoe when things start to collapse (product stinks, ripped, etc). she said that she regret being a part of an mlm bcs she lose all her friends and left alone with debt and everything the company had cost her.

[@Michaelabeauty96]

@@mambowumbo I think you are referring to the Vice documentary!

[@mambowumbo]

@@Michaelabeauty96 omg just checked that out and yes, it was vice documentary! thank you michaela 🔥

[@snakemasterbaka]

All people who get sucked up in these are left in shame. Good people wouldn’t be getting others into it unless they thought they were helping. There’s nuance to indoctrination. But also I’m not saying they aren’t guilty.

[@grenbaygrl1]

"I'd like to hear more about that regret or any regret they have for scaming people they weren't emotionally close to" Several of the women in the Amazon documentary have gone onto other videos, podcasts, etc to talk about their experiences and the shame they feel about roping others into the company. I have a feeling the doc cut a lot out of their interviews (there's lots of outrageous stories the women have said elsewhere that the doc left out, so I imagine a lot wasn't there)

[@jenm3056]

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 THANK YOU!! Favorite part of this brilliant analysis: calling the middle level MLM "victims" out on their predatory behavior to others and justifying it. 🌹

[@wsudance85]

Interesting how no one who was doing well in company "saw the light." It was only when they were struggling that they decided to get out.

[@tigerlilly9038]

BOOM 💥 EXACTLY

[@Erika-xm2mi]

You could say the same about a corporate jobs. When you're new, you see most things through rose-colored glasses because, well, it's all new and exciting and you're still learning. But once you've gathered some seniority in a company, you start seeing all of the cracks and all of the shit that's being swept under the rug. I've never been in an MLM but I can see how you would have that idealistic view on things at the beginning.

[@Lucy-wc5vf]

Oh noooo, not Kelly Clarkson 😭. That was one twist I didn't expect

[@robertstanley9633]

same...did I miss something? :/

[@nbryant8991]

She performed at one of their conventions. So did Katy Perry though.

[@barbaravyse660]

@@nbryant8991 you would think they had people to research these companies before agreeing to perform for them

[@MrJwhdz1]

@@nbryant8991 right? Kelly Clarkson got paid to do a gig - She did her job! Entertainers get paid to perform where they are told to perform. That last part of the video was totally uncalled for

[@Gracieinspired]

Let’s not forget Katie Perry! She was all into it 🤦

[@LaTericeallover]

Lol, The Ring-ing! Yes it’s the worst part of MLMs. Had a friend in the 90s try to sale my mom into Primerica. It seemed fishy af to me and my mom. The woman was so smart, we didn’t understand how she got into it. The fact that people still fall for it is because its their friends and family members that rope them in. They trust these people. I recently unfollowed a old friend bc all her IG post were about her obvious MLM, don’t recall what it was but it “changed her life”🙄 Seriously even if you love your job and business you don’t turn every post about your life into ads with discount codes and links to signup with your referral code in the bio. It was so bazaar. I hope she’s okay.

[@SpottedTiger89]

My dad was super into Primerica. It was so bad, he didn't even want me to go to grad school because he thought I could make more money in Primerica 🙄 I knew it was a pyramid scheme and warned him to stay away. Now, he's out and calls them thieves. But it took years for him to see what they truly were.

[@BabePennington20]

I had a strange feeling that they were an MLM as well! My mom recently started talking about them within the past year (since Covid) and even sat in on video calls for training purposes with the guy that was trying to get her into it. He was calling her every day, but lately I believe his phone calls have dwindled down to once a week because she’s really lost interest. I tried to tell her that it sounded so much like a pyramid scheme, but I couldn’t seem to get her to understand that.

[@Michaelabeauty96]

@@SpottedTiger89 Dang your dad was IN it

[@sharondalynnewton7562]

A guy approached my son about primerica and I told him please think about this, you’re working at McDonald’s and they didn’t ask you to pay them to start making money. So why pay this company to work and make money? Please don’t.

[@SpottedTiger89]

@@Michaelabeauty96 Yup! It's so funny, because now he's super against it. But back then, we even had arguments about Primerica. These MLM's can tear families apart...

[@mondasseh87]

Thank youuuu!!! I got in a heated argument with my husband about the fact that selling weight loss harmful shit to our community and preying on women during holidays to make them victims to her makes that woman bad, and not a victim by any mean. I know someone with an MBA who tried to sell these MLM products to our community then when some people got sick of her spamming and tried to block her, she accused the group of being racist🤦🏻‍♀️

[@Thrashpotato]

i worked at the warehouse in Corona, i was one of the ones laid off, i actually got asked to work in Fontana, but was like naw, i had enough, man i could tell you some horror stories from that place i started in curating and ended up in QC and inventory, man it sucked i'm still getting hit up by attorneys from that job because so many people are suing them

[@missmoxie9188]

Okay, now you need to do your own video

[@errinwellman1960]

We really need real legislation around these predatory companies.

[@pri.sci.lla.]

I haven’t watched this documentary series but I know a lot about MLM’s. They’re so unethical, exploitative and overall gross. So glad I’ve never fallen victim to their crap. Edit: ew Kelly Clarkson wtf is wrong with you?

[@littlesongbird1]

I knew someone who fell for the Monavie scam. I tried to warn him and so did others that it was a scam and he called me a disbeliever. I bit my tongue when he lost his money

[@seppyq3672]

@@littlesongbird1 my sister used to work for them, like at their corporate office. They got some pretty good money from a lawsuit. Lol

[@jasonfelan397]

What did Kelly Clarkson do?

[@TrulyMadlyShallowly]

I read a very insightful newsletter this week going indepth on why MLM's are so huge among Mormons - tying it directly to Mormon teachings about saving people by roping them into the religion. These teachings use exactly the same terms for winning people for Jesus, as winning people for MLMs. Not just that, but MLMs are basically a direct physical manifestation of the prosperity gospel that is very deeply ingrained in Mormonism. It was crazy enlightening.

[@TaliaWarrenDesign]

I scream/laughed so loud at "people the ringing each other" it scared the contractors doing the earthquake retrofit outside my apartment lol

[@laurenconrad1799]

The adopted kids married each other? Oh man. It was creepy in Clueless and Cruel Intentions and Twilight and it's even more bizarre in real life. lol

[@achromatic03]

Oh, they're adopted, that is actually good context. It's interesting that, the disgust for incest is rooted in the problems that arise from procreating with someone who is too genetically similar, but it is so pervasive and imbedded in our society, that we also apply it to any relatives, regardless of biological relationship. It's like this knee jerk reaction we have, myself included, but I don't know that it's logical 🤔

[@laurenconrad1799]

@@achromatic03 Yeah. Maybe I wouldn’t be as disgusted if they didn’t also run a pyramid scheme as their family business.

[@achromatic03]

@@laurenconrad1799 lol, yeah, that really is disgusting 😂

[@RebeccaStropoli]

Stepsiblings who meet as adults getting married is -- not a big deal. And these "adopted kids" appeared to not even enter the couples' life until they were adults. Some kind of weird story -- people do "adopt" adults sometimes for specific reasons, but honestly, these people were not brother and sister in any real way.

[@SD-hs2pk]

The glaring issue here is that she underestimates the brainwashing. She thinks that those who join know as soon as they do and before they bring someone in know that it's bad. This is not the case most of the time.

[@SamanthaRichardsonWP]

I remember watching something about LuLaRoe and being surprised that the buy in was so little, compared to what I was expecting. From a business standpoint, these people probably get roped in because they see it as a manageable upfront cost, compared to renting out a store and buying clothes through a distributor (huge upfront costs). If any of these folks had wanted to start their own boutique store, they probably wouldn't have thought twice about the upfront cost, given how much *more* expensive a store is to open.

[@bobsgirl100]

Sorry but that's slot of money for clothes of this caliber. Bottom line pyramid scheme and an evil couple.

[@katiegerdts355]

Chelsea, have you read the book "Cultish?" It's a newer nonfiction book about modern cults. It has multiple chapters comparing MLMs to cults.

[@jinde75]

Roberta was on the podcast of one of the writers. Sounds like a cult. Or maybe she was on unladylike or both. Recommend both podcasts.

[@cinnamonflan1412]

I like how one woman in the documentary took accountability by helping her whole team get out and said she’s been helping thousands of women get out as well. Another woman was asked which checks were bigger, the bonus checks or her own personal sales and she declined to answer… (ahem bonus checks!). That was the moment I saw the hypocrisy in the middle man retailers. Thank you so much for exposing the hidden monster in the room.

[@tiaqmal4224]

I like how you snuck in the “Kelly Clarkson is cancelled” because now I feel like I need to watch the documentary.

[@thejasminelee]

Literally so curious what that’s about

[@chidenisee]

The same year they were facing lawsuits and getting sued for not paying their people and a shit ton of other stuff Kelly did a private concert for them.

[@debifier]

Katy Perry too! Kelly Clarkson and Katy Perry both performed at LLR conventions. So disappointing.

[@lauraperdue1307]

I don’t know why Kelly Clarkson is singled out when Katy Perry also performed for them. Any artist who performs for MLMs are just there for the money. They probably don’t care what a performance is for (for the most part) as long as they get paid.

[@spiritualanarchist8162]

Good point. It's like buying a messed up car from a conman. That's being a victim. But when ,instead of taking your losses, you claim the car is fine while trying to sell that car to someone else, you become a con.

[@IsaacThePanduh]

I disagree with your stance on many subjects, but I’ll never not appreciate your vigor and passion. It’s infectious, in the best way possible.

[@lesliemartin1520]

Lovable chimney sweep, John Oliver… so accurate.

[@Laf631]

I love the woman John Oliver has in his video on MLM, where she realized the scheme had ruined her, but vowed that she would never rope in someone else to be harmed like she was.

[@modestieispurete]

This question of holding people responsible has really got my brain working, because I think it's more complicated than just "perpetrator" or "victim" because for so many people in MLMs, they are BOTH. I really think there's something to be said about MLMs as "commercial cults", as Steven Hassan (and others) has called them. How much do you hold someone responsible for their own manipulation (brainwashing, exploitation, etc.), even if they were also responsible for manipulating (etc.) others? I'm not saying we absolutely don't...but I'm also not sure how much we do, either. It's definitely something I've been thinking about for some time now.

[@FionaApplewright]

Most of the friends I've lost in my life are because of MLM's. And not because I'm through with them after 1 or 2 "invitations", but because they're told to disassociate with anyone not onboard. As far as I've seen, they're all back to square 1 within a year and they ve lost all their friends who they either disowned during or who are still somehow holding on in the MLM

[@michaelab6070]

My sister's boyfriend's mom (sorry for the cluster that is) sells for Avon. The same sister tried selling that stuff and failed, yet told me to get my Avon from her! I told her no, they're an MLM, and the only reason she is successful is that she is scamming the women in her downline and has no morals to get out.

[@matematicarka]

wait, avon? how?

[@andaminiart4288]

@@matematicarka Avon is one of original MLMs. KZbinr illuminaughti made an excellent summary of it's history.

[@michaelab6070]

@@matematicarka yes, I also highly recommend iilluminaughtii's many videos on MLMs. Her Avon and Mary Kay ones are particular stand-outs but she covers a lot of new ones so you always know who to avoid!

[@angeladavis3066]

I wish that I could give this a million thumbs up! Thank you for drawing attention to the second-tier predators too. Those who know right from wrong can’t justify knowing that something is wrong and doing it anyway.

[@dinadenman9138]

BRAVO!!!!!! Thank You for bringing the idea of accountability for everyone that perpetrates these scams to light!

[@rubiscas]

Not the Good Girl is a good YouYuber to watch about MLMs. She talks a lot about the shame she felt as a high earner when she left and saw it from the outside. There's an insane amount of denial that goes on inside these groups because they've all been persuaded that the only reason someone could fail is because they're lazy & don't want to succeed. They don't see how predatory it is until the toxic positivity fog lifts.

[@vsudybylka]

Some of the women in the documentary actually say that they realize the were exploitative towards others and that they feel bad or ashamed for it. I mean it doesn’t make it any better but it is at least mentioned in the series.. btw love your video!

[@grenbaygrl1]

I also feel like the editors cut a lot out because in other videos and podcasts they've been on, the women talk a lot about their remorse and the work they've done to make amends

[@anndavis7598]

I feel you need to be on a major network. Your work through TFD is amazing. Speaking truth to power needs to be heard everywhere and as often as possible.

[@seemsxlegit8039]

YES YES! The ring! Thats what i couldnt put into words... You were in until it went bad!!! Thank you

[@DV-xk8xw]

My favorite fun fact is I’ve never owned or worn these ugly ass leggings

[@euenfheiejrj]

I don’t know anyone who has.

[@AnimalLover101195]

"loveable chimney sweep John Oliver" someone please tweet this to him or something that's amazing. Also I LOVE her delivery on all of this. Yes, please hold *all* responsible, including those not at the very top.

[@beccadotelpy]

I'm on the fence about taking the participants/clients in an MLM to task. I think a lot of them get taken to task, ultimately, by the MLM. And kinda like war on drugs, if we focus on punishing the participants, the dealers at the top will just rework their scheme into something else. You gotta go after the top first and with more than insignificant fines.

[@LizRealGirlBeauty]

One of the worst things someone said to me about the predatory nature of MLMs, including Lularoe, was "if I like the product, I'm going to keep buying it and I don't really care." Another person I know who is all about her MLM, to the detriment of her relationships, has the same people liking and commenting on her posts. They comment "I'm ready" or "I'm in" or "is there a spot for me?" On her recruitment posts, except in earlier posts they say "best decision I ever made," or "I'm so happy to have my business." Noticing this really drove home how much of a show this all is. There's no interest in this garbage, but they're propping each other up like there is, in the hopes that just one person won't see the pattern of these comments and will think there's genuine interest. But who is worse, the one trying desperately to get some money, or the one who is willing to host a party to get "free" stuff, knowing that the "rep" is deeply in debt but could care less because she wants those ugly leggings and doesn't want to pay for them?

[@SheriLaFay]

When I watched that documentary awhile ago, I felt the same way.... They were the cause of why a lot of women lost lots of money, too. Were they really a victim? Yes, but they were also the perpetrator.

[@carmensandiego2395]

I joined a MLM years ago, the jewelry kit cost me $99...with supplies and $1,000 retail value of jewelry... I would have never, yes, never had paid $5k to $10k, hell no. Especially for ugly clothes. My experience with the jewelry co that many women I knew made insane $$$...unfortunately they financed expensive vehicles and insanely extravagant homes. It was for show, to make them seem very successful. They did not pay off anything... I always wondered. Everything I earned went to pay off and upgrade my home...thank goodness, because the company closed with one month notice.

[@katem6562]

I’m glad TFD talks about MLMs. For me it’s sad people are putting money and effort buying into a nightmare. There is hurricane sized hole in the economics of MLMs that they forget to sell to customers who would use the products. Instead they focus on reselling their inventory to others then wash and repeat.

[@trish.d.078]

This was cathartic. I am so sick of encountering an endless stream of "career coaches" and "life coaches" every time I go to a networking event.

[@allisonsm]

You are completely right in saying that its hard to draw the line, but I think the reason why its hard for me to judge someone who gets roped into this situation is because I believe most people do it out of desperation. I think about situations where for example financially vulnerable young women get roped into unregulated and unsafe sex work by other women with the promise of income, and bringing in new women often can result in the woman who recruited them getting money from a pimp. We have ample understanding of how unregulated sex work like this is often extremely harmful, however I would not want to see the women who recruited them as anything less than victims themselves. While this is a more extreme example I think at the end of the day going directly to these women who recruit others to try and stop them from roping more people in is futile. What makes more sense to me is to go further up the chain, not down. So yes we should villainize the people who started the scheme, but also we should hold the lawmakers, politicians, and other figures that allow this exploitation to happen accountable. Why are these companies allowed to operate in the first place given how indistinguishable they are from business practices that are in fact illegal? Given how widespread this issue is I am shocked that I have never heard an aspiring politician running with the promise of holding these companies accountable as part of their platform.

[@ElizabethDohertyThomas]

You bring up a really interesting point about how the moment you realize you're being victimized in an MLM is an opportunity. Instead of getting out, you're pointing out the twisted way victim convinces themselves to perpetrate on others. I'm a big fan of personal agency, and this was a great new example for me to ponder.

[@opinionsfromouterspace6740]

I had the same NXIUM comparison thought when I was watching this. It was heartbreaking in both cases and it was so sad to see how many victims became perpetrators as well and ended up losing everything including spouses, family, friends, and home. MLM's are evil and have so many similarities with cults. So many family members and friends have been suckered in and hurt.

[@Melissa0774]

I've never understood why people continue to think MLMs are a good idea in this century. The business model used to be good at one time, but it has now been obsolete for around 70-100 years, at least. Think about it. Up until the early 1920's people didn't have a ton of options for buying or learning about new products. There wasn't any TV, radio, or internet, or big box stores on every corner. They only way you could buy things was through a catalogue, stores that you had to travel pretty far to get to, or small town general stores that didn't carry much, or door to door sales people. The only way you could really learn about new products was from magazine and newspaper ads. It made sense in that kind of environment, for a company to get a network of independent distributors to sell their products and get paid to recruit other distributors as well. They needed the distributors to endorse and recommend the products to their friends and teach people how to use the products. But as soon as radio and TV came in, this started to become obsolete. And now with the internet, there's absolutely no reason why it should exist. I mean, think about every better, cheaper option for selling, marketing, and distributing a new product, that exist in today's world. TV commercials and celebrity endorsements? KZbin commercials and influencer endorsements? TV infomercials? - And all the better, more efficient ways to buy products without having to wait for your friend the distributor to get some more items in stock. Like, I don't know - from stores that exist now on the side of every road that you can drive to in your car? Or the vast network of warehouses and the vast network of cargo planes and ships that exist so we can buy almost any product you can think of from anywhere in the world, off the internet? A good analogy of an MLM would be like if there was some shady 150 year old horse and buggy company desperately trying to stay in business by trying to sell everyone horse hitches by falsely claiming that you need them for your car.

[@squashua16]

Uh did I hear that two of their kids are married?

[@Sunshine4]

Yes, but the girl was adopted when she was older and never officially lived in the house with the other kids.

[@KiKiStarling]

@@Sunshine4 thank you for the context, I was wondering why Chelsea didn't criticize that a bit more.

[@jspaingreene6350]

WOW! This was really good - straightforward & incisive. My ears really perked up when you talked about giving a free pass to those women who knowingly perpetuated this scam on others. I hope that's not what most people are doing! I certainly don't!! The woman who was associate #2? - Who had a downline of 1000s of women - the fact she wouldn't say how much she made in "bonuses" is EXTREMELY telling. I was glad she was critical of the company but it was definitely faint. The woman who drinking the kool aid and still with the company? She definitely should be held accountable! And the hypocrisy of handing over these "businesses" to husbands when they get successful just made me laugh! Who is that lady kidding? The founder has her husband on a choke leash - we saw her reign him in over & over again during the interviews.

[@amandavrivera]

If we're cancelling Kelly Clarkson, we need to also cancel Katy Perry too.

[@CandaceYoung962]

You can't cancel what you don't subscribe to. I suspect Chelsea is a Clarkson fan, not a Perry fan.

[@anaerobic]

I hope she was just making a joke about the guy who said it lol

[@smeredithmancuso]

The MLM world is like a train wreck you can't look away from.. Someone I know is an Herbalife rep and now thinks she's some kind of Dietician/Nutritionist/Personal Trainer all because she peddles these horrible shakes and "challenges" to people! It's infuriating! The misleading and just downright wrong information that these people push should be illegal. Loved this video! More anti-MLM content please!

[@missmoxie9188]

An unfiltered rant on the Lularoe documentary I am READY for this!

[@kristinclark8843]

part of the reason why you don't see comments of people taking MLMers to task for their predatory behavior is because there is a heavy censorship culture encouraged within the MLM. One of my cousins was selling some "diet" "protein" shakes and other nonsense, and I pointed out that the speed of weight loss advertised was dangerous and the company practices were dubious at best, and she deleted all my comments and blocked me.

[@oliviabirmingham7007]

I think the problem with people taking MLMers to task in their comments is that you'll just be blocked and deleted.

[@messybunonabudget8773]

Sooo many thoughts! 1. Immediately paused video and googled the kids marrying each other. They are not blood related, and we’re both living on their own when the parents got married, but it’s still just icky to me. 2. I watched this commentary before I watched the documentary. And full disclosure, I was a lula customer and bought several items of clothing at their peak. This video was so entertaining and really summed up the documentary well. 3. Seriously, how was the weed Ponzi scheme (And the ridiculous text messages related to it) just a footnote in this story! 4. After so many MLM’s being called pyramid schemes, I felt like this documentary finally explained thoroughly that it’s not just because of down lines, but because the money makers are making the majority of money by recruiting not actual sales. There is of course limited space at the top, and you can’t just “hustle” your way there because there are not enough people on earth, let alone enough people that would be interested in the “opportunity.” 5. Soooooo much toxicity from this couple/family/company. The marriage “advice”🤢, gender roles😬 in the family are unthinkable enough, then they get to the groupthink issues. 6. While I agree that current reps should absolutely be seen and treated as the accomplices they are, I truly believe that some of these people were desperate for belonging and community and the promise of financial gain. Groupthink is real, and after investing large amounts of time, effort, money into a venture it’s hard enough to walk away. It’s the same as how some gamblers can’t quit, even when they are clearly loosing money. Add to that, the “friends” that are pressuring you to stay, so they maintain their down lines, and the abusive meetings/speeches/conventions that convince you to stay and we end up here. When the recruiting started, these women were promised the world. What would you say if you were invited to invest in a property or up and coming stock… then the money starts coming in, you would want all your friends and family to be reaping those benefits too right? Obviously this is problematic knowing what we know or mlms, but there wasn’t as much buzz about them and the failure rates back when lula started. The reps that saw the light are sharing now to get the information out and warn others about LLR and MLMs, I think that their speaking out coupled with their pain, embarrassment, and financial loss is a pretty good start to their retribution.

[@anaabanana]

I have a sister who is so smart and responsible with her money, and she got roped into Stella and Dot! Thankfully, she got out of it quickly, and she at least got some cute jewelry pieces out of, but it really did show me that anyone can get sucked into these.

[@grenbaygrl1]

I think that's one of the biggest misconceptions about MLMs: folks often think their retailers are dumb sheep for getting roped into a scam, but these companies promote themselves to educated women looking for income outside of a traditional job. Plus cults can brainwash folks of any IQ. No one is immune

[@mariselasales]

I watched it last night and thought exactly the same, all these women that made money and then fell from grace are equally culpable as that psycho family, it baffles me how many people continues to fall prey of the millions of MLM out there, I see them on my FB threads too, and by no means they accept they have been scammed I feel so bad for them and their families.

[@cv8499]

I'd love to see a deep dive into how MLMs are intersecting with the anti-vax movement. Sooo many anti-vaxxers I've seen are also selling supplements, vitamins, health shakes, etc. One of the wealthiest backers of anti-vax efforts made his millions selling supplements. There is definitely financial incentive to convince people that COVID can be conquered with health shakes and the like.

[@ryanbryan4]

The common thread is really just people that are gullible.

[@zeldapinwheel7043]

An. Ex friend if mine bought about $150 worth of vitamins/supplements in one shot. But won't get vaccinated or wear a mask.

[@cv8499]

@@zeldapinwheel7043 It boggles the mind.

[@missmoxie9188]

Good eye

[@zeldapinwheel7043]

@@missmoxie9188 I'm waiting for Mike lindell to start claiming he has an anti viral pillow that kills the covid 19 virus and variants. That guy needs an intervention. Or something. My ex friend bought the "my pillow", too. 😶

[@rosemarykarlsson593]

Glad I'm an introvert. When MLMs tried to recruit me I saw thru the 'you can sell to your co-workers on your lunch hour at your corporate job' right away & I hate sales & told them so.

[@Angeleyes8082]

Everyone who is glossing over, step- siblings or adopted siblings having a relationship....needs to reevaluate their morals....

[@paillette2010]

I am living for this. You called the Psychic Friends Network and READ MY MIND!!!!

[@OkunenSan]

There's a podcast called The Dream that goes into the genesis of MLMs in season 1. After you listen to that you'll be ever more pissed off.

[@phillybutterfly2]

I’m laughing so hard at how she ate them up like this! The sass, jabs, and shade. Love it 😭😭😭😭

[@lyjahluckyy8]

I love MLM shaming.

[@ravenswood118]

not bored of it yet, huh

[@lolaadesina5362]

'Necessity is not a defence for murder' is a statement that should apply to the women or people who rope others into these schemes.

[@amelieflorelle]

Thinking it’s a good ideas to try to sell those leggings should be the first alarm bell that something sketchy is up with the business 🚨😬

[@jeffengel2607]

The first sin was against fashion!

[@tigerlilly9038]

AMEN!!!

[@juliadodds8179]

One of my mom's friends threw a lularoe party when I was in high school. I remember thinking at the time 'huh, seems weird that you can only buy this stuff off facebook or in somebody's living room'. But she didn't try to recruit anybody and I did like the dress I got so I didn't think much of it. Fast forward a few years and the truth comes out...I can't say I was shocked

[@lalakuma9]

Yeah a couple of my cousins also got into some MLM selling weird supplements after they're kind of financially struggling during COVID. They're texting my mom (their aunt) like every day trying to sell obscure vitamins. Luckily we live in different countries, so my mom can't buy their stuff even if she might do it just because she feels sorry for them.

[@tanjabrauer6391]

I agree with everything you said. But can we also talk about all the women who must be in the sweatshops making all that crap clothing? I was disappointed that there was not an episode about what must be shady manufacturing practices in a business that was producing clothes so quickly.

[@abigailsoto9600]

😂. “Wtf are these leggings”

[@DianaDodson]

😂 Those patterns are SO UGLY!

[@lk1869]

Yes! I laughed/snorted so hard my dog was concerned for my welfare! 😂

[@AdriannaIX]

I guess I'm lucky I never got roped in to buying any of these leggings because ever pair I saw looked cringe!

[@Hawkmoon1981]

The thing that makes it harder to see the MLM participants as more victim than villain as well is how many of them fall for multiple MLM schemes. They'll get into one, finally get out and then six months down the line they're in another, all excited that THIS one will be where they hit the jackpot. It's a mindset, all tied up into things like hustle culture and the prosperity gospel and the law of attraction and basically everything that claims there's some formula or key that will "unlock" success for those who are true believers, follow the instructions and stay loyal to the cause. And people just keep on buying into it like they can't recognise it's all the same BS.