A British mother has been left stunned after her weight loss photos were ‘stolen’ by a diet gummy brand and promoted in a post by reality TV star Blac Chyna.
Nancy Fawehimi, 31, from Buckhurst Hill, Essex, has documented her 8st weight loss journey on Instagram, revealing how she went gastric bypass surgery before having a procedure to remove excess skin.
She was shocked after spotting a before-and-after snap, originally posted on her account in July 2020, being used by weight loss gummy brand Beauty By Moss in an Instagram post shared by Blac Chyna, who has more than 16million followers.
The influencer accused the company of ‘tricking’ people, and added in a caption: ‘LIES Blac Chyna DISGRACEFUL. I want you all to know I think this is disgusting, do NOT believe what these celebrities post… Linked to one of the most famous families in the world and with over 16million followers. You really should be ashamed!’
Blac Chyna and Beauty By Moss have been contacted for comment.
Nancy Fawehimi, 31, (pictured) from Buckhurst Hill, Essex, her photographs were ‘stolen’ by a diet gummy brand and promoted in a post by reality TV star Blac Chyna
Nancy who shed eight stone after having gastric bypass surgery, believes Blac Chyna posted her photos (pictured) after being sent the images from Beauty By Moss
The photographs originally shared on Nancy’s Instagram last year, revealing her weight loss
Chyna, who has documented her own four stone weight loss and who has a child with Rob Kardashian, posted Nancy’s image, with a logo for Beauty By Moss, on her Instagram account on Tuesday.
Tagging the brand, she wrote: ‘The best sea moss gummy has arrived, ladies go shop with them and get your body and health right.’
The post has since been deleted. The Beauty By Moss Instagram account has just 3,000 and has since been deleted. The linked Etsy page, where shoppers can buy the product, is inactive.
Nancy, who posts on Instagram under the handle nancys_odyssey, took aim at Blac Chyna and Beauty By Moss, saying she thinks the influencer was given the ready-made post and simply shared it.
Nancy said: ‘After my initial eight stone weight loss, I started to dedicate my page to helping other women and I share my healthy meals, recipes, fitness and overall balanced life.
Nancy said it’s wrong for Blac Chyna (pictured) to give people the perception that they can achieve similar weight loss to her by eating gummies
Nancy said the Instagram and Etsy pages for Beauty By Moss (pictured) have been deleted since she complained about Blac Chyna’s post
‘I don’t agree with weight loss pills or gummies and have never taken any.’
In a video shared with her 106,000 Instagram followers, she continued: ‘What she is claiming is that I lost weight through some weight loss gummies
‘Which obviously we all know is completely untrue, I am very transparent with my weight loss and everyone knows I had gastric surgery. There are so many things wrong with this.
‘The first, which is really wrong, is the fact she has 16 million followers, loads of which will be young influential women and girls who look up to her and they will part with their hard earned money on something that is a complete lie.
Nancy (pictured) claims Blac Chyna’s post is ‘damaging’ to her brand because it contradicts what her page is about
‘Not only that, she has used my picture to advertise that lie and I can’t get my head around how celebrities can think this kind of thing is OK when it really really isn’t.’
Nancy also claimed that the post is ‘damaging’ to her brand – as it completely contradicts what her page is all about.
She advocates body positivity and empowerment – and now followers are questioning whether she has taken weight loss gummies to lose weight.
Nancy continued: ‘It’s so damaging – not only that I run a brand myself through my Instagram and with someone as huge as that, claiming that I lost weight in a way that I teach people about, you are also damaging my brand and who I am.’
She said she normally wouldn’t talk about it but believes she needs to speak out about the situation as this is a ‘different league’.
She added: ‘These people should be educating younger women and they should be educating themselves because it is really disappointing that people with that platform are doing that kind of thing.
‘I have 100,000 followers and I am using my platform to educate and help people and they are doing the complete opposite.
I just want you to know this has nothing to do with me, I am not attached to it, we have contacted the brand directly and we will be contacting Instagram to claim it isn’t a paid post.
‘I’m sure this company will be paying other celebrities – not just Blac Chyna – so if you see any other celebrities or pages who are doing this type of thing can you please bring it to my attention?
‘I’m not going to let them get away with this any longer, it’s been going on for years and this is just one step too far.’
Blac Chyna, who has since removed the post, has come under fire before for promoting a student loan company on Instagram.
She was also criticised last year for charging fans $950 for a video chat and $250 for an Instagram follow back.
Nancy (pictured) believes those with a platform should be educating themselves and younger women, admitting she’s ‘disappointed’ by some brands celebrities promoted