This week, registered dietitian and creator/CEO of the popular F-Factor Diet sued Instagram influencer Emily Gellis (@emilygellis) for allegedly making "4,500-plus false, defamatory, and/or harassing statements" from July 22, 2020 onward.
Gellis, who regularly shares both organic and sponsored fashion content via her Instagram page, began sharing posts about the F Factor diet on her Instagram this summer after she was "inspired to action by an anonymous Instagram post from someone who said she was a former client of Ms. Zuckerbrot's" that "said she had been told she should consider going off antidepressants because they could be contributing to weight retention or gain" (according to a New York Times article published this summer highlighting the social media feud between Zuckerbrot and Gellis).
Since July, Gellis has been publishing content that claims the F Factor diet has caused women to suffer a variety of mental and physical health issues.
In a lawsuit filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York this week, F Factor and Zuckerbrot allege that Gellis's over-4,500 statements published on social media to her over 280,000 followers were false, defamatory, and/or harassment.
The lawsuit claims that as a result of Gellis's statements, F Factor has seen a drop in revenue from over $1 million per month to less than $90,000 per month and has also lost a significant capital investment. Further, the complaint alleges that Zuckerbrot herself has suffered emotional distress as a result.
Gellis has stated via Instagram stories that she plans to counter sue in response to the complaint. A Go-Fund me page has raised over $32,000for Gellis's legal fees.
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