Last week, influencer Elle Darby sat down in front of the camera for a video simply titled: The Truth.

The video’s thumbnail showed the lifestyle vlogger clutching her head in her hands and, naturally, fans immediately feared the worst. Was she having marriage troubles? A health diagnosis? Or something even worse?

They found out 20 minutes into the half-hour-long video in which Elle answered a series of questions from fans. They included innocuous queries about her recent move back to Britain from America with her husband Connor and three young children – Romeo, four, Saint, three, and Honey, one – as well as parenting advice.

But the answer all of Elle’s viewers were waiting for came when the influencer was asked about her ‘weight-loss journey’. She admitted, after months of speculation, that she had been taking GLP-1 jabs for the past year.

‘I have been on a weight-loss journey for the last year or so, and I have been using a GLP-1’, she revealed.

‘I’m absolutely not sharing this to make anyone feel like they should go on one – and I will be heartbroken if that’s the way this comes across,’ she continued.

For many viewers, however, it wasn’t the revelation itself that came as a shock. It was Elle’s lack of transparency surrounding the subject.

The Wiltshire-based influencer, who has shared her life online for more than a decade and built a loyal audience of young women and mothers, raised eyebrows in recent months as her appearance changed dramatically.

Following the birth of her daughter, Honey, last year fans have watched Elle shrink before their eyes. Her noticeably slimmer frame sparked endless speculation across social media, with followers repeatedly questioning whether she was using weight loss medications such as Ozempic or Mounjaro.

Instead of being upfront, Elle refused to answer – even blocking fans who speculated that she was taking jabs beneath her Instagram posts. She even showed off her new Pilates and healthy eating regime, seemingly trying to convince her followers that those lifestyle changes were the driving force behind her new slimline look.

And followers may now feel doubly betrayed by Elle’s belated disclosure. For I can reveal that the past 12 months have been very profitable for Darby, 30. She has spent the time promoting a string of paid partnerships centred around food, wellness and fitness, including advertisements for meal-kit giant HelloFresh, which showcased healthy recipes and meal planning. She has also promoted Ocado and recently documented the creation of an at-home Pilates studio as part of another commercial partnership.

‘Another day, another @hellofreshuk for dinner because it’s our fave,’ she posted a few weeks ago as she showed herself cooking dinner.

Critics argue that while those activities may well have formed part of her overall wellness routine, they were presented during a period of significant weight loss without what many followers now view as a crucial piece of context.

One source told me: ‘She has been incredibly dishonest with her followers because she led them to believe her weight-loss journey could be credited to HelloFresh and Pilates.

‘Her announcement has been well overdue, but the damage to her followers has already happened.

‘She may say she always intended to speak about it, but many people feel she wasn’t planning to. Even 15 months after having her baby, she was still attributing her hair loss to postpartum changes.’

Indeed, the reaction beneath Elle’s latest YouTube video paints a clear picture of the frustration felt by many long-term followers.

‘The issue was never being on [the jabs],’ wrote one viewer. ‘It was the lack of transparency when you have a young female audience... oh and the blocking of people who mentioned it.

Another posted: ‘Whilst I can understand and respect your desire for privacy, I think the issue many people have is the lack of transparency.

‘You’ve said yourself that you know who your audience is, and when you share a lifestyle that appears to be the result of one thing while omitting a significant factor, people are naturally going to question it.

‘The concern isn’t that you chose to take a GLP-1 medication, that’s entirely your decision, but that your actions and messaging haven’t felt aligned.’

A third follower commented: ‘We knew already anyway, but the fact you blocked me and many others on Instagram when we asked if you’d address it is crazy, considering now you have addressed it. We were all blocked for stating the obvious.’

The fallout appears to be significant. In the last two weeks alone, Darby has lost thousands of followers on Instagram, while her YouTube audience has also taken a hit.

This is not Elle’s first controversy.

In 2022, she was forced to apologise over offensive tweets that had resurfaced from an old Twitter page. The posts used slurs against Polish and Indian people and insulted those who were overweight.

When the tweets resurfaced, Elle said she was ‘disgusted’ by the messages sent in 2011.

Even so, she lost thousands of followers – and was forced to retreat from YouTube for five months.

For many of Darby’s followers, the recent issue was never the injections themselves.

It was the perception that while they were being sold meal kits, grocery partnerships and Pilates content, they were not being given the full picture.

After years of documenting every aspect of her life online, Elle Darby’s decision to finally tell ‘The Truth’ may have answered one question.

But for many followers, it has only raised another: why did it take so long for the truth to come out?

Current Love Island contestant Tommy Murphy appears to have been promoting sunbed use before entering the villa. The reality star has been creating content for tanning salon chain Kwik Tan, including videos sharing what he describes as the ‘dos and don’ts’ of using sunbeds. In one clip, Murphy advises viewers to use a dedicated sunbed lotion before tanning. Dermatologists have long warned that certain tanning products can increase the skin’s sensitivity to UV exposure, potentially raising the risk of damage. Should ITV really be giving a platform to someone promoting these dangerous habits?

Why influencer Imogen is a breath of fresh air

In a social media landscape dominated by Ozempic transformations, filtered perfection and unrealistic beauty standards, influencer Imogen Horton is a breath of fresh air. Just two weeks after giving birth to her third child, Horton shared photos and videos of her postpartum body, posing in her underwear and speaking candidly about the realities of recovery after pregnancy. Rather than focusing on ‘bouncing back’ to her pre-baby body, Horton says: ‘I want to show my girls and the world that I am just going to let my body do what it has to do. I am just going to love my body, be grateful for my body... I am proud of myself, and I am proud of my body.’ Her honest approach has resonated with followers, with many praising her for providing a refreshing counterpoint to the pressure often placed on new mothers online.

UP

Influencer Grace Victory is leading the charge for what she’s calling an ‘Arms Out Summer’ – encouraging her followers to overcome their insecurities about their arms. The creator, who first built her platform around body positivity and fashion, has spent years cultivating a community focused on mental health, self-acceptance and the realities of womanhood.

Victory’s journey has been remarkable. In 2020, she made headlines after being placed in a coma following the birth of her first child while battling Covid-19. Since then, she has welcomed a second child, moved into her first home with her partner, released books, filmed documentaries and continued growing her online community. I’m all for it.

DOWN 

The controversial prediction market platform Polymarket – where users can bet on upcoming world events – is in my bad books this week. The company has reportedly been approaching British social media creators asking them to promote its platform, particularly among football-focused audiences, in the lead-up to the World Cup. Last week, YouTuber Ellis Platten, who runs the AwayDays channel with more than 635,000 subscribers, shared an email from someone claiming to represent Polymarket, seeking to use his X account as part of its World Cup campaign. Platten publicly mocked the proposal and did not accept the offer. But since then, several football content creators have been seen engaging with or amplifying Polymarket content on social media – often without clearly disclosing any commercial relationship or advertising arrangement. Tut tut.

Social media star @findingcorytoo has revealed that he was in the running for this year’s Love Island before ultimately missing out on a place in the villa. The Instagram and TikTok creator told followers that he had been approached by casting teams for both the British and US versions of the show and had spent six months going through the selection process. According to Cory, producers eventually decided he wasn’t the right fit for this season’s cast. Sharing his disappointment online, he explained that the outcome was particularly frustrating given that the show had initially approached him and because of the time he had invested in the process. His followers appear to share that frustration – judging by the reaction in his comments, many fans were convinced he would have been a strong addition to the line-up. Given the backlash, I have no doubt producers will revisit him for a future series.

One of my highlights recently was attending a beautiful press breakfast at the newly opened Bijoux De Mimi store on King’s Road in Chelsea. The event was hosted by influencer and entrepreneur Amelia Hitchcock-Merritt, the founder and CEO of the jewellery brand. Her story is particularly impressive. Amelia launched Bijoux De Mimi in 2020 during the Covid lockdown when she was just 18 years old, starting the business from her bedroom with only £400 in savings. What began as a small side project has since grown into a recognised jewellery brand with a dedicated following and now a stunning physical retail space. Amelia’s entrepreneurial journey is inspiring, and after hearing her speak about building the business from scratch, it’s easy to see why Bijoux De Mimi continues to go from strength to strength.

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