British podcaster and life coach Jay Shetty is under scrutiny after claims emerged that he plagiarized social media posts and lied about his life story.
Jay Shetty's official website states, “During his school years, Jay Shetty spent vacations living with monks in India, immersing himself in their wisdom and teachings.”
However, a report by The Guardian claims that Mr Shetty, author of the bestselling book 'Think Like A Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day', falsely claimed to have spent three years in a temple in India.
The 36-year-old, who was born in London and went to business school, hosts the “On Purpose” podcast, wherein he has welcomed guests like Michelle Obama, Kim Kardashian and the late Kobe Bryant, among others.
He also runs the Jay Shetty Certification School, where "students pay thousands of dollars to learn the Jay Shetty discipline".
However, the investigative report casts doubt on the accuracy of Mr Shetty's own narrative and educational qualifications.
The report stated, “After graduating, Shetty forgoes a life of material success to live as a monk himself. Three years later, he has another revelation: his purpose in life is not to live the humble life of a monk but to use his preternatural oratory skills to share wisdom with the world. Thus begins his transformation into a public self-help personality and his swift rise to fame. Shetty's success is largely predicated on this riches-to-rags-to-riches backstory.”
The report alleged that Mr Shetty also misrepresented certain aspects of his biography, including the story about how his life was changed at the age of 18 when he heard a lecture by a monk.
It added that Mr Shetty's resume includes a degree in behavioural science from a business school that doesn't even offer the course.
The report claimed that Mr Shetty uses his spiritual identity to make huge sums of money.
It stated, “Shetty is hardly the first self-help guru to embellish his spiritual credentials to amass followers, but he demands huge sums of money for his guidance. Shetty has used his spiritual authority to launch a number of subscription and education services, including the life-coaching school, which charges $7,400 a term for “Postgraduate Diploma (Level 7) qualifications” – equivalent to a master's degree.”
Regarding his association with the Hare Krishna movement, Mr Shetty has been reportedly reserved, possibly due to controversies surrounding the organisation.
“Shetty avoids mentioning Iskcon, instead describing himself as a “Vedic monk”,” stated the report.
It must be noted that Jay Shetty has been battling with accusations of plagiarism for years now.
The report stated that in 2019, Jay Shetty removed over 100 posts from YouTube and Instagram after YouTuber Nicole Arbour exposed the original sources behind his stories.
Talking about the plagiarised social media content, the report said, “Many of Shetty's “original” videos were based on pre-existing parables and social media posts that had gone viral years earlier.”
It added, “After Arbour's video, Shetty ordered his employees to go through all posts and include attributions to content that had been taken from elsewhere. He deleted more than 100 posts. He also hired a crisis PR firm, which launched a robust search engine optimization campaign, according to a former employee of Shetty's.”
Most recently, Mr Shetty officiated the wedding of Hollywood stars Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck.
