April 24, 2025 • 25 mins
During Sarah's peak of her Youtube career, a devastating call from her doctor stopped the health and fitness influencer in her tracks. The holistic health princess had been diagnosed with high grade cervical dysplasia.
Instead of following her doctor’s orders to have the pre-cancerous cells surgically removed, Sarah embarked on a mission to try and cure herself naturally. Of course, the YouTuber took her one million followers along for the ride, blurring the lines between opinion, advice and advertising.
Seven months later, Sarah declared she had naturally cured her cervical dysplasia. This wild claim catapulted the 24-year-old into mainstream media discourse, and left people questioning whether Sarah’s Day was a 'wellness warrior' or a 'menace to public health'.
* We just wanted to issue a trigger warning as we’re discussing medical misinformation and eating disorders.
.css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Before we get into the episode, we want to issue
a trigger warning as we will be discussing medical misinformation
and also themes around eating disorders. Episode two, Wellness Warrior
or Menace to Public Health. Sarah Stevenson was at the
peak of her influence, fresh from launching her first e book.
(00:22):
Her YouTube career was exploding, the brand deals were flying in,
and her ever growing audience was captivated in her picture
perfect life That's so exciting beginning, until a devastating call
from her doctor stopped her in her tracks. The Holistic
health princess had been diagnosed with high grade cervical displatia.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
I'm at level three, which means I'm at the most
high risk stage. So basically there's stage one, stage two,
and stage three, and then there's cervical cancer.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Instead of following her doctor's orders to have the pre
cancerous cells surgically removed, Sarah embarked on a mission to
try and cure herself naturally.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Part of my plan of attack to cure myself is
no coffee.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Of course. The YouTuber took her one million followers along
for the ride, blurring the lines between opinion, advice and advertising.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Alkaline greens and ultra claims because I'm all about that
anti inflammatory, antioxidant and alkalizing life, and then also spir
lean for the immune boosting properties.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Seven months later, Sarah declared she had naturally cured her
cervical displacure.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
The rest of this video is just telling you all
of the healthy ways that I cured my cervix and
how I am now free, pretty much free from cervical displature.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
This wild claim catapulted the twenty four year old into
mainstream media discourse and left people questioning whether Sarah's Day
was a wellness warrior or a menace to public health.
We a journalist, Sophie Kate and Amy Torber, and we're
fascinated by the world of influencers and the psychology of
cancel culture. In this series, we will delve into Sarah's
(02:05):
Day's biggest scandals, her fall from grace, and the dangers
of influence. This is Outspoken Plus. In episode one, We
Left You in twenty eighteen, Sarah had just left her
followers on a cliffhanger, writing, I received a call from
my doctor. What she told me has shaken my entire life.
(02:26):
I needed time to understand and accept the news before
opening up. Thank you for caring. I will share more
in my next vlog now. Followers had to wait a
week before Sarah broke the news that she had been
diagnosed with high grade cervical displacire, and despite her gynecologist
telling her to have the pre cancerous cells surgically removed,
(02:46):
she begged him to give her three more months to
see if she could cure herself. I'm so glad that
we have the opportunity to discuss this controversy and debunk
the medical misinformation that was being shared by Sarah back
in twenty eighteen. The worst part is that this information
is still online and able to be accessed by impressionable
young women, and of course still monetized content. After being
(03:09):
diagnosed with SIN three, Sarah documented in her vlogs how
she was using healthy food as a form of medicine
to try and cure her condition. On the twenty fifth
of July twenty eighteen, seven months after being diagnosed with
SIN three, Sarah declared in a YouTube video that she
had naturally cured her high grade cervical displacire. Let's throw
(03:29):
to a clip of how she started this sixty minute
YouTube video.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Everything in the health world, especially if it's like a
serious health issue, there's just so much backlash and judgment
that comes with it. But I'm really trying to like
not think about that and think about you guys and
the girls who are watching this video, who are currently
going through this, Because when I found out that I
had cervical displasure, all I was doing was just like
researching every single night. So I'm making this video for
my past self. I'm going to go through everything with
(03:56):
you guys, how I healed myself.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Sarah then made a bunch of discs, saying she wasn't
a medical professional and recommended seeking medical advice. But then
she went on to say this, if.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
You're watching this video right now and you're already wanting
to rip me to shreds for like talking about healthy alternatives,
you should probably just click off now because the rest
of this video is just telling you all of the
healthy ways that I cured my cervix and how I
am now free pretty much free from cervical displasia. So
I'll just give you a moment to leave.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
During the video, Sarah explained that her doctor advised her
to undergo a loop electrosurgical excision procedure known as leap.
In this procedure, a wire loop heated by electric current
is used to remove cells and tissues in the cervix.
In the video, Sarah outlined what she saw as pros
and cons of the procedure and explained she was concerned
(04:46):
about the negative side effects. Alarmingly, in this video, Sarah
started handing out advice and going into explicit detail about
how she claims to have healed her SIN three. So
before we get into it, we want to outline that
there is no so scientific research that has proven a
correlation between any of the claim Sarah is making. In fact,
doctors have since come out and said how dangerous her
(05:09):
advice is. Now, Sarah decided to do her own research,
which involved reading books and speaking to people like her mum,
who also had cervical displacire. Sarah later claimed her own
mum had cured her SIN one herself. Now. A big
part of this process, according to Sarah, was revamping her nutrition,
lifestyle and supplementation. Sarah then proceeded to list all the
(05:32):
supplements she took and explained she was only eating organic
foods to ensure she got the most nutrients possible. She
also said she prayed a lot and thought positively. I
also forgot about this tip. Sarah said that she had
made her own suppository, which, as the name suggests, she
put up her bum. It's just so dangerous that she's
going into explicit details, step by step of what she
(05:55):
has done and then is claiming that these are the
steps to cure yourself. I know well to that's the
end of the video. Sarah relaid a phone conversation she
had between her and a gynecologist regarding the results from
the follow up test. Let's throw to what Sarah claims
her doctor said.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
So he was on the phone and he said, I'm
so excited and overwhelmed to tell you that you are
now possible low grade. So for a second I was like,
is that good? And he was basically like, yes, that's amazing.
You're not high grade anymore. You're not even moderate grade.
You're not even low grade. You are just possible low grade,
(06:32):
which means that there's possibly some abnormal cells on my cervix.
Booking three months later, which I think is now I
should probably a book in now possible low grade. And
if I keep doing what I'm doing, it's highly likely
that by the time I see him now, which is July,
that I'll be completely clear. And I called my mom,
and I called my sisters and I called curtain Will,
(06:54):
all crying, like making chances.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
It was just like so amazing.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
I'm still so shocked, so proud of myself that I
did it. I really just can't believe it. It's definitely
the most serious health issue that I've been able to
tackle in a healthy, holistic, natural way. Yeah, at the
end of the day, my takeaway is to increase immunity,
increase antioxidants in as natural and whole food based as possible.
(07:19):
If you can get organic, great, If you can't, don't stress.
Try to decrease the stress in your life. Yeah, that's
pretty much how I.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Did it now. Disturbingly, this video has amassed over four
hundred and sixty two thousand views and has attracted over
two thousand comments, and there are countless women thanking Sarah
for sharing her knowledge. Some women said they feel like
they can now overcome their own cervical display sure through
lifestyle changes. Alarmingly, others even commented that they were trying
(07:47):
to heal themselves using Sarah's advice, rather than having the
urgent surgery that gynecologists recommended. Now, before we get into
this next section, we must point out that we are
not medical professionals and the information we have presenting is
from the Cancer Council and doctors. So firstly, cervical displature
is the medical term used to describe when cells have
(08:08):
mutated but haven't yet become cancerous. According to the Cancer Council,
there is strong evidence that twenty eight percent of women
with sin will regress spontaneously. However, there is no evidence
that there's anything a woman can do in terms of
diet or lifestyle that can promote regression. Therefore, it's very
likely that Sarah was in the lucky twenty eight percent
(08:28):
whose sin regressed spontaneously, and it had nothing to do
with the organic food she was eating or the supplements
she was taking. I think it was really irresponsible for
Sarah to claim she cured herself with healthy eating. Unfortunately,
not everyone is lucky enough to have their sin regress,
and delaying timely gynological interventions can potentially lead to someone
(08:49):
developing cervical cancer. And at this time, Sarah had built
a name for herself as a wellness warrior, so she
was selling a healthy, happy lifestyle to her followers, and
when she spoke about health, she did so with authority.
And this is despite the fact that Sarah, along with
a vast majority of other fitness influencers, have no medical
(09:09):
training or expertise in health and fitness. And what makes
this particularly dangerous is that many of these influencers speak
with an inflated sense of self belief. They are so
confident and wholeheartedly believe every word they're saying, and it
doesn't always come from a bad place. Most of the time,
they are genuinely passionate about the topics they're speaking on,
(09:31):
and they go out and do their own research, but
generally that involves a lot of googling and looking into
sources that back up their own way of thinking. And
I personally think that the deliberate use of the word
cure and heal throughout these videos is incredibly misleading. To me,
it appears as though she was impressed by her own
perceived ability to improve her cervical health that she now
(09:53):
wanted to share this information with their followers so they
two knew exactly how to do it. And also to me,
by saying you cured or healed yourself of a condition.
It gives you this huge sense of power. It gives
you this god like power. And at the very least,
you're sitting there saying that you know more than medical
professionals who have trained their whole life to treat conditions
(10:15):
like these. It's not just misleading, it's irresponsible to be
sharing this type of content. And I do understand how
distressing and overwhelming it would be to find out that
you have SIN three. On a smaller scale, a couple
of years ago, I found out that I had SIN one,
and the phone call from the doctor it left me
really shaken and imagining every worst case scenario. And I
(10:35):
get that Sarah wouldn't have been in a great headspace,
but she did create this video once she discovered that
it had regressed, so this was months after the initial diagnosis.
It's interesting, though, because when I was trying to find
information about this video recently on YouTube, there are so
many people with similar titles to Sarah talking about how
they healed themselves and cured themselves. I wonder if it
(10:57):
was a case of Sarah jumping on that band, But
because she had a million followers, it got so much
attention and backlash. I do feel like Sarah presented this
video under the guise of helping others, but it actually
ended up shaming those who haven't been able to quote
naturally heal themselves. And it probably left a lot of
her viewers wondering had they done enough and had they
(11:21):
taken the easy way out having elite procedure. And even
for those who perhaps did take the natural route, maybe
they felt guilt oven not picking the right organic fruit
and bench, or not following it to a tea, or
not having money for organic fruit and a VETI and
it really lot of pressure on you, and it really
annoys me considering that it is a spontaneous thing, this regression.
It has nothing to do with anything you were eating.
(11:42):
That's the thing. My sin one regressed after six months,
I had a retest it han regressed. I hadn't changed
any of my health or lifestyle factors. Yeah, And the
thing that really annoys me is Sarah's job is literally
to influence young women to buy things. She knows she
has the power to influence women's health too, and she
has essentially provided a guide to follow to apparently cure
(12:04):
cervical displacire. And my question is what if this influence
has stopped women from getting urgent treatment they require. What
happens if someone has lost their life because they took
on this advice rather than taking their doctor's recommendations. Could
she be liable or sued? Could YouTube be sued for
allowing this misinformation on their platform. Well, recently we've been
(12:27):
talking about the US fitness influencer Britney Dawn Davis, who
is being sued by the State of Texas for allegedly
misleading women with eating disorders with her fitness program. And
this is a real reckoning between influencers and the law.
So it's going to be really interesting to see what
happens and if this sets any precedence moving forward. I
definitely think this will have huge ramifications for the influencer industry.
(12:51):
And back to Sarah's advice, it seems pretty convenient that
the recommendations she was giving were directly linked to products
that she promotes. So essentially, Sarah was selling a remedy
to cure cervical displacia, and the only ones that were
benefiting were her and her sponsors. The context, she was
promoting the use of a number of Trepeka's supplements in
(13:12):
her videos, and I'm sure sales would have skyrocketed then,
And you would think, with six years of hindsight and reflection,
this whole saga would be something that Sarah regretted, but
she confirmed in a recent interview with Grace Beverley that
she had few regrets about her online behavior. Let's row
to what she said.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
I'd like to know when you look back, is there
anything that stands out to you as something that you
would have done differently? No, because I feel like if
you're a person and you love where you are and
you feel so I hate the word blessed, but you
know hashtag blessed. I am so content in my life
right now, with my family, with my job and everything.
I get scared if I say, oh I would have
(13:51):
changed this, would I be here now? I love everything
about my life right now. Was saying to my mom
the other day, I'm living the best years of my
life as a mum, as a business owner. I'm so content.
So I'm like, yeah, do I wish I could kind
of go back and not, you know, maybe have that
toxic reaction with people. Do I wish I didn't do
if a fics in Macros? Do I wish I didn't
(14:12):
do as many ABS selfies. Yes, actually that would be
the one. I wish I didn't do this as much
to the camera and like shred my abs and take
as many AB photos because I don't think that's positive
and I don't think any audience is going to leave
that feeling empowered. Everyone sees that, and yeah, so it's
(14:32):
like that. But for me personally, if it's about me, no,
because it helped me learn and evolve and I'm not
that person anymore. But in terms of my audience, yeah,
I wish I didn't do that.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
The deflection in this interview was really disappointing. That being said,
perhaps if she took ownership over her actions and apologized,
maybe she would open herself up to lawsuits in the future. Yeah,
you make a good point. I was really disappointed in
Grace Beverley throughout this whole interview because I've that's what
she gave Sarah and out a lot of the time,
(15:02):
she basically put words into her mouth giving her a defense.
I mean, Grace even went on to defend Sarah's AB selfie,
saying that contextually, at the time, everyone in the fitness
industry was doing it. I didn't get the whole ab
selfie thing because they were poking fun at it. But
Sarah still creates that exact content. She's been promoting her
new active web brand and all of the videos and
(15:23):
photos are AB selfie. Oh she's always doing body checks
in the mirror now. The Shameless podcast was the first
media outlet to call out Sarah's Day for her dangerous messaging,
and with all due respect to Shameless, I use the
term media outlet loosely as the podcast was in its
infancy and it's not the powerhouse we know today. It
was actually Shameless's ninth ever episode and was released back
(15:46):
on May seventh, twenty eighteen. The episode was called fact
Checking a Healing Princess and in this episode, Zara McDonald
and Michelle Andrews were collectively horrified by Sarah's messaging and
compared her actions to Belle Gibson's. So for those who
don't know, Belle Gibson is a disgraced Australian wellness blogger
who was found guilty of deceptive and misleading conduct in
(16:09):
twenty seventeen after claiming to have cured her cancer with
healthy eating and alternative therapies. Now Belle managed to build
a social media empire off the back of her fraudulent
health claims. She also made hundreds of thousands of dollars
in the process, including earning money from a cookbook and
an app. Now, it was later revealed Bell never had cancer,
(16:31):
so she made the startling admission in an interview with
the Australian Women's Weekly in twenty fifteen. Then in twenty seventeen,
Bell was fined four hundred and ten thousand dollars by
the Federal Court, with the court finding she made false
claims about donating a large portion of her profits to
charities and to the family of a boy who had
an inoperable brain tumor. Now that figure later increased over
(16:55):
five hundred thousand dollars. Now is important to note that
we are not saying that what's Sarah did was in
the same realm as Belle Gibson by any means. Shameless
also reiterated that during the episode, they said Belle and
Sarah's claims were very different, and Belle had claimed to
cure her cancer, whereas Sarah was claiming she cured pre
cancerous cells on her cervix. Michelle and Zara did however,
(17:19):
conclude that Sarah's behavior was a step away from Belle's
and she was dangerous. So Following the episode, Shameless received
a statement from doctor Brad mackay about Sarah's claims. He wrote,
Promoting a healthy lifestyle is admirable, but believing you've healed
your cervical displacire naturally is not grounded in reality. Your
immune system is extremely complex and you don't have much
(17:42):
control over it. It's narcissistic to believe that you can
heal your cervix with positive thoughts and green smoothies. Declaring
that you've healed your cervix naturally is not only ignorant,
but it's also insulting to those people who have been
diagnosed with cervical displacure or cervical cancer. It implies that
if you require treatment, you haven't prayed hard enough, haven't
(18:02):
thought positively enough, or haven't eaten the right nutritional supplements.
Sometimes bad things happen, and it's not helpful or accurate
to play the blame game. I'm glad to hear that
her high grade cervical lesion is now a low grade lesion,
but it's dangerous to recommend others to follow a sin
through routine based on an anecdotal experience.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Now.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
Doctor Brad McKay went on to write about Sarah's day
in his book called Fake Medicine, which he released in
twenty twenty one. So in his book, doctor McKay concluded
by writing, this beautiful, bubbly and charming young woman appears innocent,
but when she provides dodgy health advice to a massive audience,
ignores feedback from health professionals, and disregards the safety of
(18:43):
her dedicated fans, we can consider her to be a
menace to public health. Sarah's day will come when her
fans notice the danger she poses by preaching poor health
advice and the blurred lines she's created between opinion advice
and advertising. Why the media backlash? Sarah stayed quiet. Instead,
(19:04):
she was in the process of launching the Ultimate Secret Project.
Just three months later, on the twenty third of September
twenty eighteen, Sarah announced she was pregnant. The news was
totally unexpected. Sarah had told her audience it would be
really hard for her to fall pregnant due to her
p coos and unbalanced hormones. Her period had only just
(19:24):
returned in January twenty eighteen after a year of Amenoriea.
It's wild to watch the pregnancy announcement back. Do you
guys remember it? Yeah? I remember it because it was
quite pivotal on her channel. I have in my mind
this vision of her wearing denim overalls, her and Kurt
standing on this cliff front and a lot of blue
and pink balloons. Yeah, and they had Abby running along.
(19:46):
It was a very happy scene. I've watched the video
back and I couldn't help but cringe at the acting,
because the video actually starts with Sarah and Kurt pretending
they are a couple's counselor and answering questions. And it
was in that era where they they used to do
those cringy David Attenborough accents. Yeah. I couldn't get around
those accents. They were very annoying, I know.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Well.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
This scene was followed by a bunch of romantic flashback
clips of Sarah and Kurt over their relationship, and it
was very clear that Sarah and Kurt were keen to
push the narrative that this pregnancy was a miracle. They
were also trying to push how special their personal relationship was.
They had only been together for twenty two months at
this point, and while they had discussed children, this baby
(20:29):
wasn't planned. Yeah, And in the video narration, Sarah explains
that in the midst of her SIN three diagnosis, her
gynecologist told her that it would be extremely difficult, if
not impossible, for her to naturally full pregnant due to
her unbalanced hormones and PCs. She then went on to
say that all she ever wanted was to be a
mum and carry her own babies. Now, Sophy, you mentioned
(20:51):
it earlier, but the final scene was this beautiful scenic
shot of Sarah, Kurt and their dog Abby jogging along
a cliff front holding balloons with blue and pink confetti inside.
They went on to say it was the biggest surprise
of their lives and something they've dreamed of. Let's row
to what they said at the end.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
So to our special new member of the squad, we
already love you so much and we can't.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
Wait to be a vestie.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Ultimate secret project is coming in March.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
See you soon, little one. It's officially and finally time
to activate milf Life.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
I feel deeply uncomfortable with the last line when she
says time to activate milf life. I just sort of think,
what tickets do you have in yourself to say that.
I don't even think it's tickets. I think that this
infatuation with being an attractive mum and that's your biggest
aim in life is a little bit sad and also reductive.
I also didn't like the reference to the ultimate secret
(21:49):
project is coming. It's like commodifying your child even before
it's born. Yeah, it definitely was convenient timing for this
pregnancy to come up. Well. A string of pregnancy videos followed,
which garnered millions of views. The cervical displacire controversy was
long in the past. The second video in the series
showed Sarah's raw reaction to finding out she was pregnant
(22:10):
after taking a pregnancy test. It was very awkward viewing
Sarah's bawling her eyes out. She said it was her dream,
but she also said that she was really shocked and
nervous because she had so many work opportunities coming up.
And Sarah then went on to say that Kurt knew
she was taking a pregnancy test, but she was going
to tell him it was negative so she could capture
his surprise reaction on camera. Yeah, I think that's what's
(22:33):
uncomfortable about the whole thing. It just all seems for
the views, the fact that you're telling your partner, nah, babe,
don't worry about it, not pregnant, but then coming up
with this video that's going to attract attention online. It
just doesn't sit comfortably with me. And she also spoke
about how she'd been watching a lot of these baby
announcement videos and one of the first things that popped
(22:53):
into her head was, oh, I better get the camera out,
Like I can't imagine that being a part of your
thought process in a truly shocked moment like that, particularly
if you thought you couldn't have children now. The arrival
of Sarah's first child, Fox Ocean, was her biggest YouTube
moment to date. Of course, Sarah vlogged the experience and
uploaded it four days after her son was born. At
(23:16):
the time of recording, that video has nine point four
million views. I remember at the time everyone was hanging
out to find out what this baby's name was, and
they ended up releasing a separate video to announce the name,
which got a further one point four million likes. Now
Sarah's pregnancy wasn't drama free, with some people accusing her
(23:37):
of allegedly putting her son in danger in order to
have a natural delivery. However, all in all, her transition
into motherhood was a popular one, attracting Sarah more views
and more followers. But no one could have predicted what
the following year would hold for the world. There are
fears more than a thousand people could be infected with
a deadly SARS like virus in China. World Health Organization
(24:01):
has declared coronavirus a global pandemic. The COVID nineteen pandemic
changed life as we knew It logged inside our homes
with more free time than ever, public sentiment towards influences
began to shift and cancel culture began to rise. The
same year, the Black Lives Matter movement shook the world
as protests broke out around the globe following the murder
(24:23):
of George Floyd.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Cities across the United States remain in a state of
high tension tonight as the country braces itself for another
wave of protests over the death of George Floyd.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Flod chaos, violence, fire, and looty unfolding on the streets
of Minneapolis. Twenty twenty was a horror year for everyone,
but was also the year when Sarah's days biggest controversies
took place. Next week, we will delve into Sarah's biggest controversies,
including her bush fire fundraiser, accusations of cultural appropriation, and Ruggate.
(25:00):
This podcast was recorded on the traditional land of the
Ghana people of the Adelaide Plains. We pay respects to
elders past and present. Thank you so much for listening
to our second episode of Outspoken. Plus, we'll be back
in your year's next Wednesday with our third installment in
our Sarah's Day Deep Dive series.
Before we get into the episode, we want to issue
a trigger warning as we will be discussing medical misinformation
and also themes around eating disorders. Episode two, Wellness Warrior
or Menace to Public Health. Sarah Stevenson was at the
peak of her influence, fresh from launching her first e book.
(00:22):
Her YouTube career was exploding, the brand deals were flying in,
and her ever growing audience was captivated in her picture
perfect life That's so exciting beginning, until a devastating call
from her doctor stopped her in her tracks. The Holistic
health princess had been diagnosed with high grade cervical displatia.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
I'm at level three, which means I'm at the most
high risk stage. So basically there's stage one, stage two,
and stage three, and then there's cervical cancer.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Instead of following her doctor's orders to have the pre
cancerous cells surgically removed, Sarah embarked on a mission to
try and cure herself naturally.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Part of my plan of attack to cure myself is
no coffee.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Of course. The YouTuber took her one million followers along
for the ride, blurring the lines between opinion, advice and advertising.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Alkaline greens and ultra claims because I'm all about that
anti inflammatory, antioxidant and alkalizing life, and then also spir
lean for the immune boosting properties.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Seven months later, Sarah declared she had naturally cured her
cervical displacure.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
The rest of this video is just telling you all
of the healthy ways that I cured my cervix and
how I am now free, pretty much free from cervical displature.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
This wild claim catapulted the twenty four year old into
mainstream media discourse and left people questioning whether Sarah's Day
was a wellness warrior or a menace to public health.
We a journalist, Sophie Kate and Amy Torber, and we're
fascinated by the world of influencers and the psychology of
cancel culture. In this series, we will delve into Sarah's
(02:05):
Day's biggest scandals, her fall from grace, and the dangers
of influence. This is Outspoken Plus. In episode one, We
Left You in twenty eighteen, Sarah had just left her
followers on a cliffhanger, writing, I received a call from
my doctor. What she told me has shaken my entire life.
(02:26):
I needed time to understand and accept the news before
opening up. Thank you for caring. I will share more
in my next vlog now. Followers had to wait a
week before Sarah broke the news that she had been
diagnosed with high grade cervical displacire, and despite her gynecologist
telling her to have the pre cancerous cells surgically removed,
(02:46):
she begged him to give her three more months to
see if she could cure herself. I'm so glad that
we have the opportunity to discuss this controversy and debunk
the medical misinformation that was being shared by Sarah back
in twenty eighteen. The worst part is that this information
is still online and able to be accessed by impressionable
young women, and of course still monetized content. After being
(03:09):
diagnosed with SIN three, Sarah documented in her vlogs how
she was using healthy food as a form of medicine
to try and cure her condition. On the twenty fifth
of July twenty eighteen, seven months after being diagnosed with
SIN three, Sarah declared in a YouTube video that she
had naturally cured her high grade cervical displacire. Let's throw
(03:29):
to a clip of how she started this sixty minute
YouTube video.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Everything in the health world, especially if it's like a
serious health issue, there's just so much backlash and judgment
that comes with it. But I'm really trying to like
not think about that and think about you guys and
the girls who are watching this video, who are currently
going through this, Because when I found out that I
had cervical displasure, all I was doing was just like
researching every single night. So I'm making this video for
my past self. I'm going to go through everything with
(03:56):
you guys, how I healed myself.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Sarah then made a bunch of discs, saying she wasn't
a medical professional and recommended seeking medical advice. But then
she went on to say this, if.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
You're watching this video right now and you're already wanting
to rip me to shreds for like talking about healthy alternatives,
you should probably just click off now because the rest
of this video is just telling you all of the
healthy ways that I cured my cervix and how I
am now free pretty much free from cervical displasia. So
I'll just give you a moment to leave.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
During the video, Sarah explained that her doctor advised her
to undergo a loop electrosurgical excision procedure known as leap.
In this procedure, a wire loop heated by electric current
is used to remove cells and tissues in the cervix.
In the video, Sarah outlined what she saw as pros
and cons of the procedure and explained she was concerned
(04:46):
about the negative side effects. Alarmingly, in this video, Sarah
started handing out advice and going into explicit detail about
how she claims to have healed her SIN three. So
before we get into it, we want to outline that
there is no so scientific research that has proven a
correlation between any of the claim Sarah is making. In fact,
doctors have since come out and said how dangerous her
(05:09):
advice is. Now, Sarah decided to do her own research,
which involved reading books and speaking to people like her mum,
who also had cervical displacire. Sarah later claimed her own
mum had cured her SIN one herself. Now. A big
part of this process, according to Sarah, was revamping her nutrition,
lifestyle and supplementation. Sarah then proceeded to list all the
(05:32):
supplements she took and explained she was only eating organic
foods to ensure she got the most nutrients possible. She
also said she prayed a lot and thought positively. I
also forgot about this tip. Sarah said that she had
made her own suppository, which, as the name suggests, she
put up her bum. It's just so dangerous that she's
going into explicit details, step by step of what she
(05:55):
has done and then is claiming that these are the
steps to cure yourself. I know well to that's the
end of the video. Sarah relaid a phone conversation she
had between her and a gynecologist regarding the results from
the follow up test. Let's throw to what Sarah claims
her doctor said.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
So he was on the phone and he said, I'm
so excited and overwhelmed to tell you that you are
now possible low grade. So for a second I was like,
is that good? And he was basically like, yes, that's amazing.
You're not high grade anymore. You're not even moderate grade.
You're not even low grade. You are just possible low grade,
(06:32):
which means that there's possibly some abnormal cells on my cervix.
Booking three months later, which I think is now I
should probably a book in now possible low grade. And
if I keep doing what I'm doing, it's highly likely
that by the time I see him now, which is July,
that I'll be completely clear. And I called my mom,
and I called my sisters and I called curtain Will,
(06:54):
all crying, like making chances.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
It was just like so amazing.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
I'm still so shocked, so proud of myself that I
did it. I really just can't believe it. It's definitely
the most serious health issue that I've been able to
tackle in a healthy, holistic, natural way. Yeah, at the
end of the day, my takeaway is to increase immunity,
increase antioxidants in as natural and whole food based as possible.
(07:19):
If you can get organic, great, If you can't, don't stress.
Try to decrease the stress in your life. Yeah, that's
pretty much how I.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Did it now. Disturbingly, this video has amassed over four
hundred and sixty two thousand views and has attracted over
two thousand comments, and there are countless women thanking Sarah
for sharing her knowledge. Some women said they feel like
they can now overcome their own cervical display sure through
lifestyle changes. Alarmingly, others even commented that they were trying
(07:47):
to heal themselves using Sarah's advice, rather than having the
urgent surgery that gynecologists recommended. Now, before we get into
this next section, we must point out that we are
not medical professionals and the information we have presenting is
from the Cancer Council and doctors. So firstly, cervical displature
is the medical term used to describe when cells have
(08:08):
mutated but haven't yet become cancerous. According to the Cancer Council,
there is strong evidence that twenty eight percent of women
with sin will regress spontaneously. However, there is no evidence
that there's anything a woman can do in terms of
diet or lifestyle that can promote regression. Therefore, it's very
likely that Sarah was in the lucky twenty eight percent
(08:28):
whose sin regressed spontaneously, and it had nothing to do
with the organic food she was eating or the supplements
she was taking. I think it was really irresponsible for
Sarah to claim she cured herself with healthy eating. Unfortunately,
not everyone is lucky enough to have their sin regress,
and delaying timely gynological interventions can potentially lead to someone
(08:49):
developing cervical cancer. And at this time, Sarah had built
a name for herself as a wellness warrior, so she
was selling a healthy, happy lifestyle to her followers, and
when she spoke about health, she did so with authority.
And this is despite the fact that Sarah, along with
a vast majority of other fitness influencers, have no medical
(09:09):
training or expertise in health and fitness. And what makes
this particularly dangerous is that many of these influencers speak
with an inflated sense of self belief. They are so
confident and wholeheartedly believe every word they're saying, and it
doesn't always come from a bad place. Most of the time,
they are genuinely passionate about the topics they're speaking on,
(09:31):
and they go out and do their own research, but
generally that involves a lot of googling and looking into
sources that back up their own way of thinking. And
I personally think that the deliberate use of the word
cure and heal throughout these videos is incredibly misleading. To me,
it appears as though she was impressed by her own
perceived ability to improve her cervical health that she now
(09:53):
wanted to share this information with their followers so they
two knew exactly how to do it. And also to me,
by saying you cured or healed yourself of a condition.
It gives you this huge sense of power. It gives
you this god like power. And at the very least,
you're sitting there saying that you know more than medical
professionals who have trained their whole life to treat conditions
(10:15):
like these. It's not just misleading, it's irresponsible to be
sharing this type of content. And I do understand how
distressing and overwhelming it would be to find out that
you have SIN three. On a smaller scale, a couple
of years ago, I found out that I had SIN one,
and the phone call from the doctor it left me
really shaken and imagining every worst case scenario. And I
(10:35):
get that Sarah wouldn't have been in a great headspace,
but she did create this video once she discovered that
it had regressed, so this was months after the initial diagnosis.
It's interesting, though, because when I was trying to find
information about this video recently on YouTube, there are so
many people with similar titles to Sarah talking about how
they healed themselves and cured themselves. I wonder if it
(10:57):
was a case of Sarah jumping on that band, But
because she had a million followers, it got so much
attention and backlash. I do feel like Sarah presented this
video under the guise of helping others, but it actually
ended up shaming those who haven't been able to quote
naturally heal themselves. And it probably left a lot of
her viewers wondering had they done enough and had they
(11:21):
taken the easy way out having elite procedure. And even
for those who perhaps did take the natural route, maybe
they felt guilt oven not picking the right organic fruit
and bench, or not following it to a tea, or
not having money for organic fruit and a VETI and
it really lot of pressure on you, and it really
annoys me considering that it is a spontaneous thing, this regression.
It has nothing to do with anything you were eating.
(11:42):
That's the thing. My sin one regressed after six months,
I had a retest it han regressed. I hadn't changed
any of my health or lifestyle factors. Yeah, And the
thing that really annoys me is Sarah's job is literally
to influence young women to buy things. She knows she
has the power to influence women's health too, and she
has essentially provided a guide to follow to apparently cure
(12:04):
cervical displacire. And my question is what if this influence
has stopped women from getting urgent treatment they require. What
happens if someone has lost their life because they took
on this advice rather than taking their doctor's recommendations. Could
she be liable or sued? Could YouTube be sued for
allowing this misinformation on their platform. Well, recently we've been
(12:27):
talking about the US fitness influencer Britney Dawn Davis, who
is being sued by the State of Texas for allegedly
misleading women with eating disorders with her fitness program. And
this is a real reckoning between influencers and the law.
So it's going to be really interesting to see what
happens and if this sets any precedence moving forward. I
definitely think this will have huge ramifications for the influencer industry.
(12:51):
And back to Sarah's advice, it seems pretty convenient that
the recommendations she was giving were directly linked to products
that she promotes. So essentially, Sarah was selling a remedy
to cure cervical displacia, and the only ones that were
benefiting were her and her sponsors. The context, she was
promoting the use of a number of Trepeka's supplements in
(13:12):
her videos, and I'm sure sales would have skyrocketed then,
And you would think, with six years of hindsight and reflection,
this whole saga would be something that Sarah regretted, but
she confirmed in a recent interview with Grace Beverley that
she had few regrets about her online behavior. Let's row
to what she said.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
I'd like to know when you look back, is there
anything that stands out to you as something that you
would have done differently? No, because I feel like if
you're a person and you love where you are and
you feel so I hate the word blessed, but you
know hashtag blessed. I am so content in my life
right now, with my family, with my job and everything.
I get scared if I say, oh I would have
(13:51):
changed this, would I be here now? I love everything
about my life right now. Was saying to my mom
the other day, I'm living the best years of my
life as a mum, as a business owner. I'm so content.
So I'm like, yeah, do I wish I could kind
of go back and not, you know, maybe have that
toxic reaction with people. Do I wish I didn't do
if a fics in Macros? Do I wish I didn't
(14:12):
do as many ABS selfies. Yes, actually that would be
the one. I wish I didn't do this as much
to the camera and like shred my abs and take
as many AB photos because I don't think that's positive
and I don't think any audience is going to leave
that feeling empowered. Everyone sees that, and yeah, so it's
(14:32):
like that. But for me personally, if it's about me, no,
because it helped me learn and evolve and I'm not
that person anymore. But in terms of my audience, yeah,
I wish I didn't do that.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
The deflection in this interview was really disappointing. That being said,
perhaps if she took ownership over her actions and apologized,
maybe she would open herself up to lawsuits in the future. Yeah,
you make a good point. I was really disappointed in
Grace Beverley throughout this whole interview because I've that's what
she gave Sarah and out a lot of the time,
(15:02):
she basically put words into her mouth giving her a defense.
I mean, Grace even went on to defend Sarah's AB selfie,
saying that contextually, at the time, everyone in the fitness
industry was doing it. I didn't get the whole ab
selfie thing because they were poking fun at it. But
Sarah still creates that exact content. She's been promoting her
new active web brand and all of the videos and
(15:23):
photos are AB selfie. Oh she's always doing body checks
in the mirror now. The Shameless podcast was the first
media outlet to call out Sarah's Day for her dangerous messaging,
and with all due respect to Shameless, I use the
term media outlet loosely as the podcast was in its
infancy and it's not the powerhouse we know today. It
was actually Shameless's ninth ever episode and was released back
(15:46):
on May seventh, twenty eighteen. The episode was called fact
Checking a Healing Princess and in this episode, Zara McDonald
and Michelle Andrews were collectively horrified by Sarah's messaging and
compared her actions to Belle Gibson's. So for those who
don't know, Belle Gibson is a disgraced Australian wellness blogger
who was found guilty of deceptive and misleading conduct in
(16:09):
twenty seventeen after claiming to have cured her cancer with
healthy eating and alternative therapies. Now Belle managed to build
a social media empire off the back of her fraudulent
health claims. She also made hundreds of thousands of dollars
in the process, including earning money from a cookbook and
an app. Now, it was later revealed Bell never had cancer,
(16:31):
so she made the startling admission in an interview with
the Australian Women's Weekly in twenty fifteen. Then in twenty seventeen,
Bell was fined four hundred and ten thousand dollars by
the Federal Court, with the court finding she made false
claims about donating a large portion of her profits to
charities and to the family of a boy who had
an inoperable brain tumor. Now that figure later increased over
(16:55):
five hundred thousand dollars. Now is important to note that
we are not saying that what's Sarah did was in
the same realm as Belle Gibson by any means. Shameless
also reiterated that during the episode, they said Belle and
Sarah's claims were very different, and Belle had claimed to
cure her cancer, whereas Sarah was claiming she cured pre
cancerous cells on her cervix. Michelle and Zara did however,
(17:19):
conclude that Sarah's behavior was a step away from Belle's
and she was dangerous. So Following the episode, Shameless received
a statement from doctor Brad mackay about Sarah's claims. He wrote,
Promoting a healthy lifestyle is admirable, but believing you've healed
your cervical displacire naturally is not grounded in reality. Your
immune system is extremely complex and you don't have much
(17:42):
control over it. It's narcissistic to believe that you can
heal your cervix with positive thoughts and green smoothies. Declaring
that you've healed your cervix naturally is not only ignorant,
but it's also insulting to those people who have been
diagnosed with cervical displacure or cervical cancer. It implies that
if you require treatment, you haven't prayed hard enough, haven't
(18:02):
thought positively enough, or haven't eaten the right nutritional supplements.
Sometimes bad things happen, and it's not helpful or accurate
to play the blame game. I'm glad to hear that
her high grade cervical lesion is now a low grade lesion,
but it's dangerous to recommend others to follow a sin
through routine based on an anecdotal experience.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Now.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
Doctor Brad McKay went on to write about Sarah's day
in his book called Fake Medicine, which he released in
twenty twenty one. So in his book, doctor McKay concluded
by writing, this beautiful, bubbly and charming young woman appears innocent,
but when she provides dodgy health advice to a massive audience,
ignores feedback from health professionals, and disregards the safety of
(18:43):
her dedicated fans, we can consider her to be a
menace to public health. Sarah's day will come when her
fans notice the danger she poses by preaching poor health
advice and the blurred lines she's created between opinion advice
and advertising. Why the media backlash? Sarah stayed quiet. Instead,
(19:04):
she was in the process of launching the Ultimate Secret Project.
Just three months later, on the twenty third of September
twenty eighteen, Sarah announced she was pregnant. The news was
totally unexpected. Sarah had told her audience it would be
really hard for her to fall pregnant due to her
p coos and unbalanced hormones. Her period had only just
(19:24):
returned in January twenty eighteen after a year of Amenoriea.
It's wild to watch the pregnancy announcement back. Do you
guys remember it? Yeah? I remember it because it was
quite pivotal on her channel. I have in my mind
this vision of her wearing denim overalls, her and Kurt
standing on this cliff front and a lot of blue
and pink balloons. Yeah, and they had Abby running along.
(19:46):
It was a very happy scene. I've watched the video
back and I couldn't help but cringe at the acting,
because the video actually starts with Sarah and Kurt pretending
they are a couple's counselor and answering questions. And it
was in that era where they they used to do
those cringy David Attenborough accents. Yeah. I couldn't get around
those accents. They were very annoying, I know.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Well.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
This scene was followed by a bunch of romantic flashback
clips of Sarah and Kurt over their relationship, and it
was very clear that Sarah and Kurt were keen to
push the narrative that this pregnancy was a miracle. They
were also trying to push how special their personal relationship was.
They had only been together for twenty two months at
this point, and while they had discussed children, this baby
(20:29):
wasn't planned. Yeah, And in the video narration, Sarah explains
that in the midst of her SIN three diagnosis, her
gynecologist told her that it would be extremely difficult, if
not impossible, for her to naturally full pregnant due to
her unbalanced hormones and PCs. She then went on to
say that all she ever wanted was to be a
mum and carry her own babies. Now, Sophy, you mentioned
(20:51):
it earlier, but the final scene was this beautiful scenic
shot of Sarah, Kurt and their dog Abby jogging along
a cliff front holding balloons with blue and pink confetti inside.
They went on to say it was the biggest surprise
of their lives and something they've dreamed of. Let's row
to what they said at the end.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
So to our special new member of the squad, we
already love you so much and we can't.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
Wait to be a vestie.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Ultimate secret project is coming in March.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
See you soon, little one. It's officially and finally time
to activate milf Life.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
I feel deeply uncomfortable with the last line when she
says time to activate milf life. I just sort of think,
what tickets do you have in yourself to say that.
I don't even think it's tickets. I think that this
infatuation with being an attractive mum and that's your biggest
aim in life is a little bit sad and also reductive.
I also didn't like the reference to the ultimate secret
(21:49):
project is coming. It's like commodifying your child even before
it's born. Yeah, it definitely was convenient timing for this
pregnancy to come up. Well. A string of pregnancy videos followed,
which garnered millions of views. The cervical displacire controversy was
long in the past. The second video in the series
showed Sarah's raw reaction to finding out she was pregnant
(22:10):
after taking a pregnancy test. It was very awkward viewing
Sarah's bawling her eyes out. She said it was her dream,
but she also said that she was really shocked and
nervous because she had so many work opportunities coming up.
And Sarah then went on to say that Kurt knew
she was taking a pregnancy test, but she was going
to tell him it was negative so she could capture
his surprise reaction on camera. Yeah, I think that's what's
(22:33):
uncomfortable about the whole thing. It just all seems for
the views, the fact that you're telling your partner, nah, babe,
don't worry about it, not pregnant, but then coming up
with this video that's going to attract attention online. It
just doesn't sit comfortably with me. And she also spoke
about how she'd been watching a lot of these baby
announcement videos and one of the first things that popped
(22:53):
into her head was, oh, I better get the camera out,
Like I can't imagine that being a part of your
thought process in a truly shocked moment like that, particularly
if you thought you couldn't have children now. The arrival
of Sarah's first child, Fox Ocean, was her biggest YouTube
moment to date. Of course, Sarah vlogged the experience and
uploaded it four days after her son was born. At
(23:16):
the time of recording, that video has nine point four
million views. I remember at the time everyone was hanging
out to find out what this baby's name was, and
they ended up releasing a separate video to announce the name,
which got a further one point four million likes. Now
Sarah's pregnancy wasn't drama free, with some people accusing her
(23:37):
of allegedly putting her son in danger in order to
have a natural delivery. However, all in all, her transition
into motherhood was a popular one, attracting Sarah more views
and more followers. But no one could have predicted what
the following year would hold for the world. There are
fears more than a thousand people could be infected with
a deadly SARS like virus in China. World Health Organization
(24:01):
has declared coronavirus a global pandemic. The COVID nineteen pandemic
changed life as we knew It logged inside our homes
with more free time than ever, public sentiment towards influences
began to shift and cancel culture began to rise. The
same year, the Black Lives Matter movement shook the world
as protests broke out around the globe following the murder
(24:23):
of George Floyd.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Cities across the United States remain in a state of
high tension tonight as the country braces itself for another
wave of protests over the death of George Floyd.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Flod chaos, violence, fire, and looty unfolding on the streets
of Minneapolis. Twenty twenty was a horror year for everyone,
but was also the year when Sarah's days biggest controversies
took place. Next week, we will delve into Sarah's biggest controversies,
including her bush fire fundraiser, accusations of cultural appropriation, and Ruggate.
(25:00):
This podcast was recorded on the traditional land of the
Ghana people of the Adelaide Plains. We pay respects to
elders past and present. Thank you so much for listening
to our second episode of Outspoken. Plus, we'll be back
in your year's next Wednesday with our third installment in
our Sarah's Day Deep Dive series.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!