by - Former fitness influencer Brittany Dawn is set to face trial in Texas over allegations of cheating on clients.
- Dawn ran a personalized fitness coaching program, but clients claimed it was generic and unhelpful.
- The Texas Attorney General is seeking penalties ranging from $250,000 to $1 million from Dawn’s business.
Brittany Dawn-turned-fitness-religion is on trial in Dallas, Texas, over claims she misled clients with a once-famous virtual personal training program.
According to Buzzfeed News, the March 6 test launch has been postponed indefinitely due to scheduling issues. In February 2022, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Dawn, alleging that she failed to provide the promised personalized services and benefited from the scam.
Dawn’s attorney did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
As of 2014, Dawn, née Brittany Dawn Davis, was selling her personalized fitness program through bdawnfit.com, which promised three months of one-on-one coaching, nutritional advice, and weekly check-ins for between $92 and $300, according to The Complaint.
“She has been described as ‘your coach, your confidant, your biggest supporter and friend,’ to ‘push you on, shape you and help you find the person you have always wanted to be,'” Paxton wrote in the Legal action.
In reality, however, according to the complaint, the services were neither personalized nor effective. Dawn also charged users shipping fees despite all services being online, Texas AG added in the complaint.
Members were asked to submit their height, weight, and other health information to Dawn to create 30- or 90-day meal and fitness plans, but many said they never received structured plans, instead receiving general check-in Messages when advice was promised.
“Other consumers complained that any answers they received, even initially to a detailed check-in or specific question, were general and not substantive, e.g. B. ‘THIS IS MY GIRL! or ‘You have this baby!'” Paxton wrote in the complaint.
Other customers have claimed that Dawn amplified eating disorders they were dealing with and that Dawn’s generic plans were geared towards reducing calorie intake. In the complaint, Texas AG alleged that Dawn refused to take clients with eating disorders.
“One consumer said in her first survey, ‘I really need guidance, help, the right information and support right now. I currently have an eating disorder, horrible beliefs about my body image…I’m underweight for my height,'” Paxton wrote in the complaint. “Ms. Davis’ response was, ‘Great! Welcome to the #teambrittanydawn family.”
Texas AG is seeking penalties of between $250,000 and $1 million from Dawn.
On Tuesday, a combative Dawn — who has struggled with Christian content since apologizing for the fitness venture in 2019 — took to social media to say she was ready to “fight back” to the allegations .
But even after the fitness scandal, Dawn has remained a lightning rod for controversy within the creator economy.
In December, the influencer defended her foster parenting journey after critics suggested her foster agency failed to do due diligence given Dawn and her husband’s controversial past. “My background check was perfect, thanks,” she replied on Instagram at the time.
Dawn’s husband Jordan Nelson — a former Kansas City police officer — was sued by the ACLU in 2013 for using excessive force against a black man. He was also at the center of another scandal in 2021 when Dawn revealed he shot her dog after being hit by a car instead of taking him to the vet.
