Back in 2017, influencer Brittany Miller shocked her friends and family with the revelation that she had been diagnosed with cancer.
However, it eventually emerged that Miller was lying about her diagnosis, a fact that she now attributes to a “mental health crisis.”
Now, the mother of two — who has more than 3.5 million followers on TikTok — is apologizing for misleading so many.
“So I never wanted to talk about this time in my life because it was a very difficult time for me, but I owe it to my followers and people that support me to tell you my truth,” Miller said in a video posted on Monday.
“I also want to put a stop to the people that are twisting and exaggerating what actually happened. So, I’m just going to go from the beginning,” she continued, adding:
“So, back in 2017 I had extremely bad mental health and at the time I didn’t realize how bad, but it was bad. I was depressed, I was suicidal, I was lost, I was confused.
“I lost my partner, I lost my job, and there was lots of things in that year that led me to be mentally ill.
“I said something to someone within my immediate circle, in confidence — one stupid sentence that I deeply regret,” she continued.
“I said I had an illness, which was cancer. I didn’t do this for malicious intent or to scam people. I did this out of desperation. To keep the people in my life close to me.”
Miller concluded by clarifying that, despite reports to the contrary, she was not attempting to con anyone out of money.
“I don’t condone it. I understand why I did it, and I’ve learned from my mistakes,” Miller said.
“This was not a long-running scam, or a manipulative story, like it’s been made out to be.”
While it’s good that Brittany is finally coming clean, many have pointed out that she’s doing so only after being called out by others.
Clearly, Miller feels real remorse for her actions, and it’s worth bearing in mind that she was quite young when she lied about her diagnosis.
Still, many are disappointed that she took so long to clear the air, and some of those people are calling on Miller to atone for her mistake through some sort of mental health advocacy work.
Brittany has yet to reply to those demands, but clearly she has no intention of stepping away from the spotlight, so she’ll probably be forced to address the topic again at some point.
Brittany Miller: TikTok Star Apologizes For Faking Cancer Diagnosis was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.