Self-help guru Tony Robbins accused of sexual misconduct in yearlong investigation

Self-help guru Tony Robbins has been accused of sexual misconduct and of berating abuse victims in an extensive, yearlong investigation from BuzzFeed News.

The report published on Friday says that two women who worked for Robbins signed sworn statements accusing him of "repeatedly pursuing them after they made clear they weren't interested," while another two former assistants alleged they were "expected" to work alone with Robbins while he was naked; one of these women said she once left his hotel room in tears after he dropped his towel in front of her. A fifth woman told BuzzFeed that she had a consensual affair with Robbins but was fired after his wife became suspicious. These incidents allegedly occurred in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The report also details Robbins allegedly sending employees into his audience to solicit women for him and accuses him of creating a "highly sexualized environment" at his seminars, such as by telling men and women to "touch themselves intimately and simulate orgasms" and telling a woman he wanted her to "come up onstage and make love to me."

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Robbins is additionally accused of berating abuse victims at events, with BuzzFeed citing audio of Robbins allegedly referring to a survivor of physical and emotional abuse as a "crazy bitch" and saying a rape victim was "using all this stuff to try and control men." The former woman told BuzzFeed she did not take it "personally," but an expert with the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence called this alleged behavior "beyond egregious."

Robbins denied all of the allegations in BuzzFeed's report, with his lawyers saying, in part, that he was "never intentionally naked” in front of staff. Robbins also refuted the report in a Medium post, writing that "I have never behaved in the reckless, irresponsible, or malicious manner intimated by false, unfounded, and incendiary allegations suggested by BuzzFeed story-tellers." Read the full report at BuzzFeed News.