UK Journo Unmasks Jay Shetty's Alleged Deception: What's The Truth?

A UK journalist has unmasked the alleged reality behind self-help guru and bestselling author Jay Shetty's reverent life and career. A report in The Guardian painted the Indian-origin British motivational speaker as a plagiariser, who has lied about his past. Shetty claims to his followers that he had a "spiritual awakening" in his college days and lived the life of a Hindu monk for a few years before turning to social media. 

The recent report by The Guardian journalist poses a host of allegations against Jay Shetty that include his past and some of his content. The report also calls out the inaccuracy in Shetty's educational qualifications.

Self-Help Influencer Exposed

British podcaster Jay Shetty has invited several eminent guests on his show, On Purpose, including Michelle Obama, the late Kobe Bryant, and socialites like Kim Kardashian. He is also the author behind Think Like A Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day, where he has written about living life as a monk in India for several years.

The investigative report by the Guardian delves deeper into Shetty's claim that he had a spiritual awakening in college and dropped out in his final year to spend years as a monk in an ashram in Mumbai. "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 reads.

However, the report debunks these big claims and adds that the 36-year-old London-born self-help guru is lying to his followers. The report also exposes the sham behind his Jay Shetty Certification School, where "students pay thousands of dollars to learn the Jay Shetty discipline." The journalist also points out how Shetty's resume claims he has a degree in behavioural science from a business school that doesn't even offer the course.

One of the excerpts from the lengthy read states, “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.”

Jay Shetty has been accused of plagiarism for years now, The Guardian report notes how in 2019, the 36-year-old removed over 100 posts from YouTube and Instagram after content creator Nicole Arbour exposed the original sources behind his stories. “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," the report claims.

Most recently, Shetty officiated the wedding of Hollywood stars Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck.