A Texas influencer who sent anorexic clients $300 weight-loss plans as part of a fitness program that allegedly also misled women about “personalized” eating plans is expected to appear in court next month.
Brittany Dawn Davis had promised to help thousands of women with fitness packages ranging from $92 to $300 that offer personalized health plans, coaching services, exercise and nutrition tips.
However, a lawsuit filed in early 2022 alleges that the personalized plans and tips never happened and that the program violated consumer protection laws, misled people with eating disorders, and used fraudulent practices to attract customers.
Davis, who has amassed more than 474,000 followers on Instagram, gave up her fitness gig years ago after clients complained about her questionable business practices. Her trial is scheduled for March 6 in Dallas County, Texas.
Brittany Dawn Davis is due to appear in court on March 6 after allegedly misleading clients about “personalized” meal plans and aggravating the conditions of clients with eating disorders
Davis, who has amassed more than 474,000 followers on Instagram, gave up her fitness gig years ago after clients complained about her questionable business practices.
At least 14 women with eating disorders turned to Davis for help with their recovery, but claimed she instead aggravated their condition with low-calorie diets, which the Texas attorney general said would only be appropriate for those looking to shed pounds.
In one case, a former client who weighed 80 pounds at the time enrolled in the Davis program because she was applying to be an “eating disorder soldier.”
This customer nearly passed out due to poor diet, The Dallas Morning News reported.
The lawsuit also alleges that Davis charged customers a shipping fee for emailed diet and nutrition plans that were intended to be individualized to meet customers’ specific needs but were instead generic.
Prosecutors said the influencer, who ran a company called Brittany Dawn Fitness LLC, began selling online fitness packages to thousands of customers in 2014, promising each they would receive “personalized” nutritional advice and coaching.
Plan prices ranged from $92 for a one-time consultation to $300 for three months of nutrition counseling, training, and coaching.
“However, the online nutrition and fitness plans provided to consumers were not individualized,” the lawsuit said. “The defendants also failed to provide the promised coaching and check-ins.”
Davis had promised to help thousands of women with fitness packages ranging from $92 to $300 that offer personalized health plans, coaching services, exercise and nutrition tips
Davis posted before and after photos of herself on Instagram to promote her program
Davis faced Heat in 2019 after a growing number of women came forward that she sold them “generic” workout plans and then deleted their complaints on social media
Davis began facing the heat from customers in 2019 after a growing number of women came forward saying she sold them “generic” workout plans and then deleted their complaints on social media.
She ignored customer complaints until 2019, when a public outcry about her services prompted her to address the complaints on YouTube.
“I made a mistake,” she said. “I took full responsibility for it, I did things right and I did everything I could to make things right. As a business owner, as an influencer, I’ve learned from this and I’m a prime example of what can happen when you have a platform and screw it up.”
After the complaints surfaced, Davis took down the website where she sold diet and fitness plans.
But many of their disappointed customers said they weren’t refunded for the wrong plans. In a private Facebook group dedicated to complaints about Davis, more than 5,000 women gathered to share their horror stories.
A customer who bought a 90-day plan only received an email from Davis. Another customer who bought a similar plan said Davis cut contact within two weeks.
Others said that when they approached Davis with a question or a specific question, they gave impersonal responses like, “THIS IS MY GIRL! You kill it!’ or ‘You have this baby!’
Davis referred her clients to a “Team Brittany Dawn” Facebook group for support, but the forum backfired when clients realized they had received identical plans, the court document said.
“One consumer commented, ‘I initially thought you created this workout plan based on my needs and desires… until I referred 2 friends to you and their plans were the same,'” reads the legal filing.
Davis referred her clients to a “Team Brittany Dawn” Facebook group for support, but the forum backfired when clients realized they had received identical plans
At least 14 clients mentioned eating disorders in their complaints, though Davis claimed she never treated clients with eating disorders, the lawsuit says
Customers said they didn’t adequately tailor meal plans to those recovering from eating disorders and asked for an additional “shipping fee” to email documents
The lawsuit also claimed it misled consumers with eating disorders, luring them with a YouTube video in which she claimed to have overcome her own eating disorder through exercise and a healthy diet.
She promoted her fitness plans on the social media posts, the court filing said, leading potential clients to believe she had special training in treating eating disorders.
“One consumer remarked that “the main reason I chose them [Ms. Davis] of all the coaches out there, it was explicit that she was promoting herself as an “eating disorder soldier.”
“It was incredibly important to me that the person I chose for my coaching had an idea of what it’s like to deal with an eating disorder.”
More than a dozen eating disorder sufferers who subscribed to Davis’ plans said they received “suggestions about low-calorie macronutrients that would only be appropriate for someone who needs to lose weight and not gain weight.”