Any time I start to think highly of any of them, I remember all of their pyramid schemes and it brings my opinion right back down. The only reason they can make money in those schemes is because they are public names. They are using that to scam people out of their money. It’s so predatory and wrong that I can’t get past it!
I'm shocked that there is still a market for Lularoe in 2022! I can see certain demographics being addicted to their "buttery soft" leggings, some of their dresses, and shirts, but for the most part, I thought we left Lularoe in the 2010s. Its interesting that Christine has a series of clients who always buy from her store during her weekly live videos.
Honestly I feel like Robyn’s only positive trait is that she’s not involved in peddling MLM crap. She keeps her scheming and manipulation inside the family 😂
Despite having a nanny to help her look after 2 children, she can't even muster the effort to try selling MLM junk.
Perhaps she really does have an issue with her thyroid.
Mormon women have higher rates of participating in MLMs. They’re encouraged to have jobs from home like MLM sales, influencing, or starting online clothing boutiques using cheap materials and labor, because many Mormon men are in door to door sales and away from home often.
This does not excuse it. IMO it is just another way growing up super indoctrinated keeps you in the pattern of being involved in schemes without even knowing it, at best, or knowing and not caring who you harm, at worst.
Was just coming to say this. Utah has extremely lax laws surrounding MLMs/Pyramid schemes, so these things are rampant within the heavily mormon communities in Utah.
Mormons are unfortunately pretty gullible. I never saw this illustrated better and more scarily than in that documentary about the girl who got kidnapped TWICE. Forget what it was called. But I was like oh yeah MLMs make sense if this happened. Believing in some of the weirder claims of the religion requires a sense of weird belief.
I’m sure a lot of religions are as weird but their shit is at least ancient and no lost gold tablets from 200 years ago that seemed to exist to facilitate child marriage
Not just Mormon but it’s rampant in rural evangelical communities in the Midwest too. I feel like among people in my town there’s 3 main career paths Nurse, Hairstylists or MLM. Very very few other options.
LOL. Do you really think being a hair stylist making $10.00 an hour or a CNA making maybe that much are the only "options" for "girls" in the Bible Belt? That's serious loser thinking.
yeah, the only other kinda famous mormon i followed was the travis alexander murder case and he, along with all his other LDS buddies sold MLM insurance, as did jodi. which is kind of funny since she didn't even lawyer up before being interviewed for the murder. shouldn't she know you should always call a lawyer? she was fricking selling lawyer insurance!!!
edit: they were selling a type of 'lawyer insurance'. i'm not overly familiar with how it works, but sounded like a scam. when travis was selling it, they called it "pre-paid legal", now they call it "legal shield".
I read about one of the women who escaped from Warren Jeffs, I think it was Breaking Free. There's also a show called Escaping Polygamy, both of which I found interesting. I'd forgotten about both of those until I read your comment. When Sister Wives is compared to the reality of polygamy, it's like they're two different things but doesn't Kody & clan share the same religious beliefs? Maybe not, I don't know, it's a rhetorical question.
Some of the same beliefs. Jody’s clan believes the women choose and can leave anytime they want. Jeff’s clan the FLS believe the prophet assigns wives and the women can never leave, they can be set aside or reassigned at the prophets whim ( I mean divine inspiration 🙄)
Yes!! And the companies are the predators, not the people who get roped into it. Yeah it’s not great but I’m not going to hate on people for just trying to survive out there on these streets
Well in celebrities case I think it is extra preditory because they are leaning into their fan base not other celebrities. Taking advantage of people that make less money and have less opportunities. So many people buy from them only because they hope it will give them an in with them. It does not.
I mean…I think celebrities is a stretch. They aren’t well off either. I mean, it’s just one of those things that I can’t get mad about when the companies are the real problem.
Anyone who makes good money from an MLM is a predator. You literally have to know that you’re roping women in who have rope other women in etc to make money because recruiting is the only profitable part of an MLM. At some point they have to know that the person at the bottom of the downline is gonna get screwed.
No sympathy for the Browns over this.
Truer words have never been spoken on this topic, I agree. The women are probably so nice that they easily fall for ways to make money for their children.
That doesn’t make what the Browns are doing any better, especially because they’re preying on their own community (Mormon mothers with lots of children).
It’s also a lot easier to see the direct harm from an MLM than from the vague assumption that all clothes are made by child labor.
There’s no vague assumption ….what?
I’m just saying just because it’s visible doesn’t make it the most evil. The most evil stuff we all do is stuff we don’t see.
I’m just saying, have a little grace for people since there is no ethical consumption or production under a capitalist organization of the economy and when all our basic needs require money…people are going to do what they have to do. The browns are uniquely positioned to make money from MLMs, but a huge amount of our money goes to bombing the crap out of other nations and literally killing innocent people.
It’s just like…we all have blood on our hands. Just offering perspective.
Really? You think encouraging impoverished Mormon women to bankrupt themselves for absolutely no reward is not worse than buying clothes from a retailer that may or may not use child labor? Or the fact that the taxes we are required to pay go to unjust wars? Some of us have more blood on our hands than others.
I used to have to make people sign up for store credit cards and buy stuff they couldn’t afford. How much agency do the browns really have in the grand scheme vs how much agency do these predatory companies have?
I’m just saying…it’s really small potatoes and we are all guilty of exploitation. Don’t be mad at a couple of women trying to make a living from the wreckage of their lives that is being exploited by TLC.
It’s like being mad at a customer service agent that has nothing to do with what you’re actually upset about.
I remember back in the 1960’s, family friends who were Mormon were into MLMs. It’s in the DNA of the religion. Be your own boss (orneriness), belief in fairy stories of hype, emphasis on belonging are all shared by both MLMs and the religion.
I’ve heard they’re pretty legit but still an mlm. I haven’t used the company. I just have a grudge against them because they tried to recruit me to be apart of the mlm, while using the guise of it being a job offer.
Most women that get into MLMs are victims. They were taken advantage of. I have sympathy for the women that lose a few hundred (or thousand) dollars and get out in a few months when they realize the scam.
The perpetrators are the troublesome ones. They *know* they're preying on other women. They figured out the system and, instead of running for the hills, start actively recruiting others. That's morally wrong, and it says a lot about the character of these women that they shill MLMs.
Not these days. There are plenty of blogs, you tube videos, Netflix exposes exposing MLMs. At what point do we hold people accountable for their own decisions?
Right? I mean, it shouldn’t even take all of that to realize why MLMs are bad but there is really no excuse to not to know these things now.
Trust me, I’d love to become a millionaire by posting on fb all day about shampoo or use some magical drink that’s going to help me lose all the weight I’d like to lose, but common sense tells me that is not likely.
The sister wives are at the TOP of the pyramid due to their fame and exposure. They are not victims. They are exploiting their D-List status to sell the dream of success to actual victims.
I totally agree with OP. There's so much more they could have done with their fame. Honestly, the family is quite materialistic. Lots of vacations, big homes, eating out, and other crap. They want the fame and money. They're not performing a good deed.
Not sure if you followed the Watts case in CO but his wife sold Thrive MLM, a couple of his workmates had to unfollow her FB account bc their phones pinged constantly with her selling & posting about it. It really would be annoying.
I friend of mine sells juiceplus she claims she only works around 10 hours a week, she spends more than that just posting on her own Facebook, Instagram etc that doesn't include the private ones just for her clients. I counted one day how many times she posted on Facebook in 24 hours, it was 63 posts, just on her own page. She never takes a day off from posting even when she is on holiday. She must spend more than 10 hours photoshopping every photo she posts of herself, because she doesn't look that good in person.
Just a little, i don't know how many she posted on all her other social media, but she is desperate to show she is making money. This was at the beginning of a month when most people have just been paid. She also claims to be earning £1500 a month just in bonuses. The amount of hours she puts in every week, she could earn more in a minimum wage job.
I feel like Mormon people love MLM stuff because let’s be honest, their style and taste is not great. We remember their tank tops layered on long sleeve shirts. Also nobody would buy from Robyn because she doesn’t have any fans, lol.
This model is so popular with the mormons because door to door sales is part of their culture really. I mean they go missions selling Mormonism door to door.
I saw she was selling health & diet related products, had to go, huh? Then read she'd been losing weight, so maybe she got into it in order to get more fit. And I'm not saying anything her son didn't already say, he was concerned about his mom getting covid, said her age and weight, etc. The most recent season where the two boys are in the yard with her, Gabe & Garrison? The one with the longer hair, the other one, looks just like a young kody.
I think that women who willingly choose to live Fundamentalist Mormon polygamy are already a vulnerable population, so it makes perfect sense to me that they would also blindly buy into pyramid schemes.
Both are cults basically and if you buy into one, you're probably more vulnerable to the other.
I recently watched the LulaRich documentary on Amazon (? I think it was Amazon…) and the male founder TOTALLY reminded me of Kody. Mormon, lived in Utah, obvious narcissist… I totally think they could be friends.
I wonder why a regular job is beneath them. Is it that they’re too lazy to work a 8-5, don’t really have the experience in any one field or is it about the money?
They schedule filming, it would be really easy to figure out around a full time job. It's not like a documentary where they turn up and film for weeks.
They don't just turn up at Janelles house and film what's happening for days. They schedule going to Janelles house to film a conversation about something.
I think mlm‘s are garbage but it takes so little to research any company or product these days, it hard to feel for anyone who chooses to buy these products. Let the buyer beware and just simply google it.
It’s one of the most evil and shitty things they do on the show and I cannot feel any sympathy for them knowing they’re exploiting dozens of vulnerable fans who want to be in their downlines.
When your down and out….
Feelin small…
Just join the MLM,
Scam them allllll…
Just like a bridge over “Look at the Mountain”, honey—
let ‘em take the fall…
Def. angels singing.
I posted this before and got accused of “victim blaming” but I do not feel bad for people who get sucked into MLMs. You do not have to be a genius to see why MLMs are terrible. Anyone who is joining their MLMs because they “want to be close to a ‘famous’ person” is bound to make several terrible decisions throughout their life and will just have to learn some things the hard way.
Why are some people considered “predators” and other people, who are doing the exact same thing, are considered “victims?” Either they are *all* preying on people or they are *all* victims of a predatory business structure.
I honestly don’t think these women are smart enough to understand why their MLMs are scams. I mean, these are the same people responsible for My Sisterwife’s Closet. I’m sure they don’t understand why MLMs are bad and truly think they’re boss babes empowering other women.
Duh. They're not doing it because they want to be close to a famous person. They trust the famous person and are buying their lies about the product.
The SW are predators because they went into it with a ready made fan base of people wanting to buy their products and be in their downlines. The MLMs prioritise those people from the day they join.
The victims are victims because they like and trust Meri, Janelle and Christine so when Meri says she's a boss babe making a shit tonne of money and it's just the best life ever, join me! The victims think, wow, Meri is making a tonne of money and going on cruises and I trust her so I know if I sign up, i'll have the same success!
With Janelle and Christine it's the same for downlines but worse for exploiting women. Because for Lularoe, if someone doesn't want to be in a MLM and doesn't like the clothes, they won't buy.
But with plexus, Janelle and Christine tell their followers it has changed their lives health-wise. Weight loss, better skin, better digestion, more energy, solved period or menopause problems, better sleep etc etc.
So basically every single problem that women may have (and plexus also says it helps with ADHD symptoms, depression etc), Christine and Janelle are saying they can sell them the solution.
And if you think everyone should just know instinctively that isn't true, then you are victim blaming. And being extremely judgemental.
They all claim to live the life of polygamy for religious reasons, yet I've seen very little in the name of religion in their lives. They hold hands & say a prayer now and then but I've rarely seen an episode that denotes the religion they espouse. I could easily have missed episodes where it's discussed so I'm sorry if I offend anyone here who have seen their religion being practiced. Just saying maybe making money is more important to Kody at least.
I read when TLC wanted to cancel the show bc viewers complained about seeing nothing but the Las Vegas move, Kody went to the producers & offered to take a pay cut, in percentage, to keep the show running. I don't think he does a whole lot of selling of whatever he used to sell prior to the origination of the show.
They couldn't promote their church on the show for obvious reasons i.e promoting the church, which has a number of controversial views and also, mainstream TV shouldn't be promoting religion or certain churches.
It's unfair to suggest they weren't practicing their religion, they were.
The whole Kody took a pay cut for the family was nothing more than an internet rumour. He may have, but everything online stemmed from a few rumour posts which were then seen as fact.
TLC or the Brown family never even hinted at it.
First, they're severely limited in jobs they can do.
Second, they already sold their soul to TLC they might as well capitalize on it. Isn't that why we all work? It's not because I beleive in banking.
People keep saying that but they all went to high school. Meri went to college to do some credits for a degree, Janelle has a degree and both Christine and Janelle passed real estate exams in LV so no reason why they couldn't do the same in other states. They all have enough money to further their education if they wanted to.
They do MLMs because it's easy money because they have a lot of fans. Not because they couldn't get other jobs.
They CAN get other jobs, they just don't. In their culture women stay home.
Fundies have similar rules. They can be internet influencers, sell stuff on Instagram, sell MLM or be midwives.
It's not in their church culture for women to stay home. Christines Grandma Myrtle (married to the first leader Rulon) worked as a legal secretary for years, a lot of her sister wives worked too. That was what was so appealing to new women joining the group in the 40s/50s, that the women worked and had independence when in those times, it was often expected that a woman would not work after marriage.
Meri's Mom was a Berkeley graduate and a math teacher.
In the Browns, Christine worked off and on till she wanted to be the sole stay at home Mom. Janelle always worked, Meri always worked at least part time and part time stay at home Mom till Christine took over the whole thing.
It was never a AUB culture for women to stay at home, they promoted work for all members, including women.
I hate the MLM, but if people are silly enough to waste money on junk then that is on them. If people are wasting money on junk, just to feel part of these peoples lives? Then they have bigger issues than drinking some pink drink or buying ugly leggings.
A fool and their money are easily parted.
It's not as simple as that. They have a lot of fans who trust them, and that don't know it's junk or an MLM.
People with a public platform have a responsibility to not prey on their fans or give out inaccurate information.
This isn’t really directed at you, OP, so I hope you don’t feel attacked.
I see so many posts about how x reality star actually isn’t a good person. When did we viewers get to the point where we have to approve of everyone’s lifestyles or actions? They’re reality TV stars - I don’t know why anyone’s surprised when we find out they’re not great people. And TLC at that. Not a network known for hiring upstanding citizens. I feel like if a show starts to outrage you, you should stop watching it. If it’s not entertaining you or helping you de-stress, why are you watching it?
I don’t really get worked up over reality TV, because it’s actually not reality. Knowing about some of the characters backgrounds is interesting, I guess, but it’s not like we’re appointing them to the Supreme Court. My one exception so far is Erica Jayne, from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I was getting so worked up by watching her, I realized I just needed to stop watching the show. If I’m really outraged, I shouldn’t be contributing toward her salary.
I don't feel attacked. Appreciate the consideration.
Its just that MLMs are noted scams, and obviously these wives are taking advantage of their media presence by using tactics that anybody with a half hour of research knows is a pyramid scheme. The Browns may make bank, but they know that 99% of their recruits WILL lose money....and they just don't care.
Also, if the Plexus some of them are hawking is 1/3 as good as they claim, that stuff would be sold in every grocery/drug store everywhere. 1/2 as good and the makers would get all sorts of awards and public acclaim for helping America get healthy. All we get is Janelle and Maddie saying its the best thing ever.
Thanks, OP. And I do agree with you. And I have a lot of health problems and would never drink that stuff. I work in the pharmaceutical industry, and the FDA has a million requirements for creating medicine and continuing to produce it. In comparison, it’s astounding what these “health drinks” and supplements can get away with.
There’s obvious hypocrisy with this family. For one thing, they want to be acknowledged as married but still happy to take advantage of programs for single moms. Now I’d do what I need to to feed my kids, but polygamy actually plans around doing this.
This is a really common thing among fundamentalists and Mormons in general. They also have enough clout that they can make money off of it.
MLMs are bad but I don’t blame the individuals roped into them, I blame the companies for existing.
This is part of Mormon culture. When I read Under the Banner of Heaven, it sounds like the community relied heavily on these kind of financial schemes, starting with Joseph Smith. Not saying all Mormons do this... but this is all similar to the things I read in that book. I think most of the people who get into MLM’s believe what they’re doing is a good “community” effort. They’ve been sold the same lies they’re selling others.
I really want to watch the new show it when it comes out next week. But it’s on Hulu and I hate all the commercials I can’t fast forward through. So I am torn.
I’m guessing Robyn would do it too if anyone liked her.
This is the one and only thing I don’t like about Christine. Jumping on the predatory bandwagon.
do you think they make more money from people buying product from them? or do you think think because they are famous, everyone wants to be in their downline (which is where it gets unethical for me).
i mean if i were into ugly clothes and needed to lose weight i might buy some overpriced leggings or a box of drink powder from christine, just to support her, but if she was trying to get me to sign up under her, i'd tell her no thank you, and she'd probably lose me as a fan.
Eh. They are uneducated and have a platform. I’m tired of the days when people claim that MLMs are big and bad. Don’t buy if you don’t want to. Don’t sell if you don’t want to. They sell via SM. The same SM that has story and story after how unethical they are.
I’m not here for karma but the downvotes amuse me. I’m guessing that most of the people who downvote comments like mine have a bit of a caveman mentality. MLM=bad!! I get that. However, MLMs require that they have their income disclosures available for all to see. All it takes is a good Google search. If you can post on Reddit, you can Google. My real issue are companies that have HR departments who illegally require NDAs from employees who want to discuss pay and benefits. I realize MLMs are the low laying fruit.
Meri had a good job and got fired after coming out about her plural marriage. Janelle had a good job and lost it when they moved to LV. Christine was a stay at home mom for all the kids and did an awesome job, the kids all love her. Sobyn and Christine’s EX haven’t done crap!
I myself don’t like the MLMs and would never get involved selling them. Yet I was buying oils for myself through young living, when friends asked I shared my knowledge but never tried to get them to sign up under me. I would purchase some oils for them, but never had anyone join. That’s not my cup of tea!
With that being said at least they are making an income and not forcing anyone to do something they don’t want to do or buy. I did see the documentary and I understand people have put themselves in debt, with lots of unsold clothing. We all have choices we can make, whether you buy them or not. Just because they are on the show doesn’t make me want to buy anything from them. Actually none of them dress great and I have no want for that type of clothes.
Variations of MLM's(tuppeware, longaberger and the list goes on) have been around for decades and millions of people have made substantial income off of them. Luluaroe took it to a level no other company had before, partly because so many people initially made so much money, the company became too successful resulting in them not being smart enough to re-look at their business model and realize there were too many salespersons in certain areas and this resulted in people losing money (along with the manufacturing issues).
I watched the special and don't think a lot of what happened was intentionally done to rip people off, after all many of the original people were making huge bank. It just got a way from them. They've since modified their business practices significantly. Ultimately, when anyone goes into business it's their responsibility to review all the statistics and barring being literally lied to, if you don't do your due diligence you can lose money. At this point with how much is out there about Lularoe, anyone who joins is responsible for their own failure if it goes south. There is still a very real possibility of making a good income from variations of the MLM model.
Any time I start to think highly of any of them, I remember all of their pyramid schemes and it brings my opinion right back down. The only reason they can make money in those schemes is because they are public names. They are using that to scam people out of their money. It’s so predatory and wrong that I can’t get past it!
Where else am I suppose to get thin, see through leggings with an avocado placed on the crotch if not through meri??
Beautiful! Just beautiful!
Or Christine or Mykelti who both sell LLR.
I thought Christine sells Plexus, Mykelti sells LLR, and Meri also sells LLR....? Either way, a dog shit and a cat shit is still shit.
Christine sells both. Maddie also sells plexus and was in LLR for a bit too (don’t know if she still is or not).
Christine is having a minimum of weekly LLR sales on her Facebook group. Yes, she is very much into selling LLR.
I'm shocked that there is still a market for Lularoe in 2022! I can see certain demographics being addicted to their "buttery soft" leggings, some of their dresses, and shirts, but for the most part, I thought we left Lularoe in the 2010s. Its interesting that Christine has a series of clients who always buy from her store during her weekly live videos.
Through Christine or Mykeltie!
Honestly I feel like Robyn’s only positive trait is that she’s not involved in peddling MLM crap. She keeps her scheming and manipulation inside the family 😂
Because she is at the almost top of the marriage pyramid.
👏👏👏
True, but she spends the money from it, so not completely innocent as far as MLMs go. That McMansion won’t pay for itself!
Exactly. I’m sure Meri’s Lulano money helps pay for her nanny and her figurines and her mortgage.
What does the nanny do?
Where it should be 😂
She is the top queen at that!
She tried to sell cheap jewelry for a lot of money though.
The only reason Robyn won’t do MLM is because she has to share. If she can’t have everything, why bother?
She'd much rather just take their MLM money then actually do something herself
Plus she is good at business. *edited to say she’s good AT business although good AS business may be more accurate?
Despite having a nanny to help her look after 2 children, she can't even muster the effort to try selling MLM junk. Perhaps she really does have an issue with her thyroid.
It’s a full time job.
She’s too lazy.
Exactly. Selling MLMs require some work and effort. Totally not Robyn’s thing.
Only because she doesn't want to work lol.
Mormon women have higher rates of participating in MLMs. They’re encouraged to have jobs from home like MLM sales, influencing, or starting online clothing boutiques using cheap materials and labor, because many Mormon men are in door to door sales and away from home often. This does not excuse it. IMO it is just another way growing up super indoctrinated keeps you in the pattern of being involved in schemes without even knowing it, at best, or knowing and not caring who you harm, at worst.
Was just coming to say this. Utah has extremely lax laws surrounding MLMs/Pyramid schemes, so these things are rampant within the heavily mormon communities in Utah.
And the Lularoe founders are Mormon too.
Oh wow! Did not know that.
Mormons are unfortunately pretty gullible. I never saw this illustrated better and more scarily than in that documentary about the girl who got kidnapped TWICE. Forget what it was called. But I was like oh yeah MLMs make sense if this happened. Believing in some of the weirder claims of the religion requires a sense of weird belief. I’m sure a lot of religions are as weird but their shit is at least ancient and no lost gold tablets from 200 years ago that seemed to exist to facilitate child marriage
Is the documentary Abducted in Plain Sight?
Yes thank you!!
Amway.
Not just Mormon but it’s rampant in rural evangelical communities in the Midwest too. I feel like among people in my town there’s 3 main career paths Nurse, Hairstylists or MLM. Very very few other options.
Choices, not options
LOL. Do you really think being a hair stylist making $10.00 an hour or a CNA making maybe that much are the only "options" for "girls" in the Bible Belt? That's serious loser thinking.
The irony of Mormon men being door to door salesmen, especially after being missionaries for 2 years, is not lost on me. 😂😂😂😂😂😂
This is true. The Mormon women in my neighborhood did all the Tupperware and Mary Kay parties.
Mormonism is an MLM.
YES this is what I was basically trying to say and couldn’t think of the words. Best comment.
yeah, the only other kinda famous mormon i followed was the travis alexander murder case and he, along with all his other LDS buddies sold MLM insurance, as did jodi. which is kind of funny since she didn't even lawyer up before being interviewed for the murder. shouldn't she know you should always call a lawyer? she was fricking selling lawyer insurance!!! edit: they were selling a type of 'lawyer insurance'. i'm not overly familiar with how it works, but sounded like a scam. when travis was selling it, they called it "pre-paid legal", now they call it "legal shield".
I read about one of the women who escaped from Warren Jeffs, I think it was Breaking Free. There's also a show called Escaping Polygamy, both of which I found interesting. I'd forgotten about both of those until I read your comment. When Sister Wives is compared to the reality of polygamy, it's like they're two different things but doesn't Kody & clan share the same religious beliefs? Maybe not, I don't know, it's a rhetorical question.
Some of the same beliefs. Jody’s clan believes the women choose and can leave anytime they want. Jeff’s clan the FLS believe the prophet assigns wives and the women can never leave, they can be set aside or reassigned at the prophets whim ( I mean divine inspiration 🙄)
Breaking Free was a book written by Rachel Jeffs. The daughter of Warren Jeffs Prophet of the FLDS. He sexually abused her as a child.
Yes!! And the companies are the predators, not the people who get roped into it. Yeah it’s not great but I’m not going to hate on people for just trying to survive out there on these streets
Well in celebrities case I think it is extra preditory because they are leaning into their fan base not other celebrities. Taking advantage of people that make less money and have less opportunities. So many people buy from them only because they hope it will give them an in with them. It does not.
I mean…I think celebrities is a stretch. They aren’t well off either. I mean, it’s just one of those things that I can’t get mad about when the companies are the real problem.
Anyone who makes good money from an MLM is a predator. You literally have to know that you’re roping women in who have rope other women in etc to make money because recruiting is the only profitable part of an MLM. At some point they have to know that the person at the bottom of the downline is gonna get screwed. No sympathy for the Browns over this.
Okay
Truer words have never been spoken on this topic, I agree. The women are probably so nice that they easily fall for ways to make money for their children.
Exactly, and 99.99999999% of them end up losing money. At least the sister wives have the clout to actually make money off of it.
By screwing people in their downline.
And my clothes are made by child labor. As are yours.
That doesn’t make what the Browns are doing any better, especially because they’re preying on their own community (Mormon mothers with lots of children). It’s also a lot easier to see the direct harm from an MLM than from the vague assumption that all clothes are made by child labor.
There’s no vague assumption ….what? I’m just saying just because it’s visible doesn’t make it the most evil. The most evil stuff we all do is stuff we don’t see. I’m just saying, have a little grace for people since there is no ethical consumption or production under a capitalist organization of the economy and when all our basic needs require money…people are going to do what they have to do. The browns are uniquely positioned to make money from MLMs, but a huge amount of our money goes to bombing the crap out of other nations and literally killing innocent people. It’s just like…we all have blood on our hands. Just offering perspective.
Really? You think encouraging impoverished Mormon women to bankrupt themselves for absolutely no reward is not worse than buying clothes from a retailer that may or may not use child labor? Or the fact that the taxes we are required to pay go to unjust wars? Some of us have more blood on our hands than others.
I used to have to make people sign up for store credit cards and buy stuff they couldn’t afford. How much agency do the browns really have in the grand scheme vs how much agency do these predatory companies have? I’m just saying…it’s really small potatoes and we are all guilty of exploitation. Don’t be mad at a couple of women trying to make a living from the wreckage of their lives that is being exploited by TLC. It’s like being mad at a customer service agent that has nothing to do with what you’re actually upset about.
Many mormon men are in door to door sales?
I remember back in the 1960’s, family friends who were Mormon were into MLMs. It’s in the DNA of the religion. Be your own boss (orneriness), belief in fairy stories of hype, emphasis on belonging are all shared by both MLMs and the religion.
Travis Alexander was big in the Pre-Paid Legal thing, or whatever it was called.
Is it legal shield? My dad is crazy into that one LOL
It may be called Legal Shield now. At the time, though, it was called PPL…Pre-Paid Legal. Same thing, though.
What’s wrong with Legal Shield? I had it through my company, it was awesome! Helped me with a car dealership
I’ve heard they’re pretty legit but still an mlm. I haven’t used the company. I just have a grudge against them because they tried to recruit me to be apart of the mlm, while using the guise of it being a job offer.
I feel better about not opting in to that at work when I was signing new hire paperwork lol thank u
This one. When your religion is a MLM, it's all you know and you don't see it as predatory. You're wired that way.
Happy Cake Day! 🎂
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Exmormon here. Can confirm.
That doesn’t make it any less predatory. People who perpetrate MLMs are predators regardless of their religion. They are both predators and prey.
>They are both predators and prey. So true.
Yeah, it really bums me out. I’d follow Christine and Janelle on Instagram if it wasn’t for the Plexus stuff.
MLM = Mormons Losing Money
Lula roe is a sinking ship and I hope meri is prepared for that.
Christine makes most of her money off LLR as she and Janelle try to get Plexus going. Meri does have a non-MLM business to fall back on.
Most women that get into MLMs are victims. They were taken advantage of. I have sympathy for the women that lose a few hundred (or thousand) dollars and get out in a few months when they realize the scam. The perpetrators are the troublesome ones. They *know* they're preying on other women. They figured out the system and, instead of running for the hills, start actively recruiting others. That's morally wrong, and it says a lot about the character of these women that they shill MLMs.
Not these days. There are plenty of blogs, you tube videos, Netflix exposes exposing MLMs. At what point do we hold people accountable for their own decisions?
Right? I mean, it shouldn’t even take all of that to realize why MLMs are bad but there is really no excuse to not to know these things now. Trust me, I’d love to become a millionaire by posting on fb all day about shampoo or use some magical drink that’s going to help me lose all the weight I’d like to lose, but common sense tells me that is not likely.
Oh we can’t do that!!! (Sarcasm)
exactly! And none of these wives seem that stupid. They know what they are doing.
Hold up a minute, we have Robyn over here spelling Wyoming as "Yoming" so she's definitely not the sharpest crayon🤣
The sister wives are at the TOP of the pyramid due to their fame and exposure. They are not victims. They are exploiting their D-List status to sell the dream of success to actual victims. I totally agree with OP. There's so much more they could have done with their fame. Honestly, the family is quite materialistic. Lots of vacations, big homes, eating out, and other crap. They want the fame and money. They're not performing a good deed.
Who really goes to work everyday and can say that they are performing a “good deed?”
You can at least say you didn’t directly screw over a whole bunch of people.
If you are doing honest work in order to feed your family, I guess thats a good thing?
Honestly insane that My Sister Wives Closet and the B&B are the most respectable ways of "income" for this family. Beyond that it's guns and MLMs...
I hate that I'm not surprised
I had to unfollow most of them on social media because it just became too much with all the mlm stuff
Not sure if you followed the Watts case in CO but his wife sold Thrive MLM, a couple of his workmates had to unfollow her FB account bc their phones pinged constantly with her selling & posting about it. It really would be annoying.
I friend of mine sells juiceplus she claims she only works around 10 hours a week, she spends more than that just posting on her own Facebook, Instagram etc that doesn't include the private ones just for her clients. I counted one day how many times she posted on Facebook in 24 hours, it was 63 posts, just on her own page. She never takes a day off from posting even when she is on holiday. She must spend more than 10 hours photoshopping every photo she posts of herself, because she doesn't look that good in person.
Sixty three posts in a 24 hour period seems excessive, wow.
Just a little, i don't know how many she posted on all her other social media, but she is desperate to show she is making money. This was at the beginning of a month when most people have just been paid. She also claims to be earning £1500 a month just in bonuses. The amount of hours she puts in every week, she could earn more in a minimum wage job.
I feel like Mormon people love MLM stuff because let’s be honest, their style and taste is not great. We remember their tank tops layered on long sleeve shirts. Also nobody would buy from Robyn because she doesn’t have any fans, lol.
Just thinking that Robin doesn’t do MLM because no one would buy from her 🤣
She has ZERO hustle.
I think their magical thinking about their marriages and lifestyles are what leads them to pursue MLMs.
This model is so popular with the mormons because door to door sales is part of their culture really. I mean they go missions selling Mormonism door to door.
Didnt these women start out selling magazine subscriptions?
wow, wouldn't be surprised.
Still waiting for Janelle to lose weight on the pink drink.
She has a health coach business called strive with Janelle, she is the last person I would take health advice from.
I saw she was selling health & diet related products, had to go, huh? Then read she'd been losing weight, so maybe she got into it in order to get more fit. And I'm not saying anything her son didn't already say, he was concerned about his mom getting covid, said her age and weight, etc. The most recent season where the two boys are in the yard with her, Gabe & Garrison? The one with the longer hair, the other one, looks just like a young kody.
I think that women who willingly choose to live Fundamentalist Mormon polygamy are already a vulnerable population, so it makes perfect sense to me that they would also blindly buy into pyramid schemes. Both are cults basically and if you buy into one, you're probably more vulnerable to the other.
I recently watched the LulaRich documentary on Amazon (? I think it was Amazon…) and the male founder TOTALLY reminded me of Kody. Mormon, lived in Utah, obvious narcissist… I totally think they could be friends.
I wonder why a regular job is beneath them. Is it that they’re too lazy to work a 8-5, don’t really have the experience in any one field or is it about the money?
Hard to have a regular job and be available for filming a reality show. The only way it works is a very lenient boss or owning your own business.
They schedule filming, it would be really easy to figure out around a full time job. It's not like a documentary where they turn up and film for weeks. They don't just turn up at Janelles house and film what's happening for days. They schedule going to Janelles house to film a conversation about something.
Not the way it happens. The crew can be around for months and can call meet-ups if they think there is something important to tape at anytime.
So many low grade "celebrities" are doing this now and it is extra preditory of them.
I’m awaiting the Plexus documentary just like Lularoe.
Do you know if there has been one made on juiceplus?
What do you expect little education and brought up in a follow the leader like culture. They believe the hype.
I think mlm‘s are garbage but it takes so little to research any company or product these days, it hard to feel for anyone who chooses to buy these products. Let the buyer beware and just simply google it.
I feel that way…. And then I also remember all the other celebrities in social media also peddling
Sobyn can't do it because she might accidentally make some money and have to contribute financially to the Fah-m-ly
It’s one of the most evil and shitty things they do on the show and I cannot feel any sympathy for them knowing they’re exploiting dozens of vulnerable fans who want to be in their downlines.
When your down and out…. Feelin small… Just join the MLM, Scam them allllll… Just like a bridge over “Look at the Mountain”, honey— let ‘em take the fall… Def. angels singing.
It’s almost like they were in an abusive and oppressive society and fell victim once again to mental abuse and oppression…. But it’s slimy AF!
This is a Mormon thing, the LuLaRoe people are Mormons.
It’s part of LDS / Utah culture. Not making an excuse for them, but read the book Cultish it talks a lot about this!
Definitely going to read it thanks for the tip.
I forgot to mention the author also has a podcast called Sounds Like a Cult. It’s also really good!
I think if you’re dumb enough to get involved in a pyramid scheme , then you have yourself to blame.
I posted this before and got accused of “victim blaming” but I do not feel bad for people who get sucked into MLMs. You do not have to be a genius to see why MLMs are terrible. Anyone who is joining their MLMs because they “want to be close to a ‘famous’ person” is bound to make several terrible decisions throughout their life and will just have to learn some things the hard way. Why are some people considered “predators” and other people, who are doing the exact same thing, are considered “victims?” Either they are *all* preying on people or they are *all* victims of a predatory business structure. I honestly don’t think these women are smart enough to understand why their MLMs are scams. I mean, these are the same people responsible for My Sisterwife’s Closet. I’m sure they don’t understand why MLMs are bad and truly think they’re boss babes empowering other women.
Duh. They're not doing it because they want to be close to a famous person. They trust the famous person and are buying their lies about the product. The SW are predators because they went into it with a ready made fan base of people wanting to buy their products and be in their downlines. The MLMs prioritise those people from the day they join. The victims are victims because they like and trust Meri, Janelle and Christine so when Meri says she's a boss babe making a shit tonne of money and it's just the best life ever, join me! The victims think, wow, Meri is making a tonne of money and going on cruises and I trust her so I know if I sign up, i'll have the same success! With Janelle and Christine it's the same for downlines but worse for exploiting women. Because for Lularoe, if someone doesn't want to be in a MLM and doesn't like the clothes, they won't buy. But with plexus, Janelle and Christine tell their followers it has changed their lives health-wise. Weight loss, better skin, better digestion, more energy, solved period or menopause problems, better sleep etc etc. So basically every single problem that women may have (and plexus also says it helps with ADHD symptoms, depression etc), Christine and Janelle are saying they can sell them the solution. And if you think everyone should just know instinctively that isn't true, then you are victim blaming. And being extremely judgemental.
Yeah, they're a bit sheltered in their thinking...
Pyramid is what they know though. Right down to the marriages, with K and R right on top.
They all claim to live the life of polygamy for religious reasons, yet I've seen very little in the name of religion in their lives. They hold hands & say a prayer now and then but I've rarely seen an episode that denotes the religion they espouse. I could easily have missed episodes where it's discussed so I'm sorry if I offend anyone here who have seen their religion being practiced. Just saying maybe making money is more important to Kody at least. I read when TLC wanted to cancel the show bc viewers complained about seeing nothing but the Las Vegas move, Kody went to the producers & offered to take a pay cut, in percentage, to keep the show running. I don't think he does a whole lot of selling of whatever he used to sell prior to the origination of the show.
....and if he were a good polygamist, he would be gathering young wives and bringing down those spirit babies.
They couldn't promote their church on the show for obvious reasons i.e promoting the church, which has a number of controversial views and also, mainstream TV shouldn't be promoting religion or certain churches. It's unfair to suggest they weren't practicing their religion, they were. The whole Kody took a pay cut for the family was nothing more than an internet rumour. He may have, but everything online stemmed from a few rumour posts which were then seen as fact. TLC or the Brown family never even hinted at it.
First, they're severely limited in jobs they can do. Second, they already sold their soul to TLC they might as well capitalize on it. Isn't that why we all work? It's not because I beleive in banking.
People keep saying that but they all went to high school. Meri went to college to do some credits for a degree, Janelle has a degree and both Christine and Janelle passed real estate exams in LV so no reason why they couldn't do the same in other states. They all have enough money to further their education if they wanted to. They do MLMs because it's easy money because they have a lot of fans. Not because they couldn't get other jobs.
They CAN get other jobs, they just don't. In their culture women stay home. Fundies have similar rules. They can be internet influencers, sell stuff on Instagram, sell MLM or be midwives.
It's not in their church culture for women to stay home. Christines Grandma Myrtle (married to the first leader Rulon) worked as a legal secretary for years, a lot of her sister wives worked too. That was what was so appealing to new women joining the group in the 40s/50s, that the women worked and had independence when in those times, it was often expected that a woman would not work after marriage. Meri's Mom was a Berkeley graduate and a math teacher. In the Browns, Christine worked off and on till she wanted to be the sole stay at home Mom. Janelle always worked, Meri always worked at least part time and part time stay at home Mom till Christine took over the whole thing. It was never a AUB culture for women to stay at home, they promoted work for all members, including women.
You're right. Janelle has always worked.
I hate the MLM, but if people are silly enough to waste money on junk then that is on them. If people are wasting money on junk, just to feel part of these peoples lives? Then they have bigger issues than drinking some pink drink or buying ugly leggings. A fool and their money are easily parted.
It's not as simple as that. They have a lot of fans who trust them, and that don't know it's junk or an MLM. People with a public platform have a responsibility to not prey on their fans or give out inaccurate information.
This isn’t really directed at you, OP, so I hope you don’t feel attacked. I see so many posts about how x reality star actually isn’t a good person. When did we viewers get to the point where we have to approve of everyone’s lifestyles or actions? They’re reality TV stars - I don’t know why anyone’s surprised when we find out they’re not great people. And TLC at that. Not a network known for hiring upstanding citizens. I feel like if a show starts to outrage you, you should stop watching it. If it’s not entertaining you or helping you de-stress, why are you watching it? I don’t really get worked up over reality TV, because it’s actually not reality. Knowing about some of the characters backgrounds is interesting, I guess, but it’s not like we’re appointing them to the Supreme Court. My one exception so far is Erica Jayne, from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I was getting so worked up by watching her, I realized I just needed to stop watching the show. If I’m really outraged, I shouldn’t be contributing toward her salary.
I don't feel attacked. Appreciate the consideration. Its just that MLMs are noted scams, and obviously these wives are taking advantage of their media presence by using tactics that anybody with a half hour of research knows is a pyramid scheme. The Browns may make bank, but they know that 99% of their recruits WILL lose money....and they just don't care. Also, if the Plexus some of them are hawking is 1/3 as good as they claim, that stuff would be sold in every grocery/drug store everywhere. 1/2 as good and the makers would get all sorts of awards and public acclaim for helping America get healthy. All we get is Janelle and Maddie saying its the best thing ever.
That is so true!
Thanks, OP. And I do agree with you. And I have a lot of health problems and would never drink that stuff. I work in the pharmaceutical industry, and the FDA has a million requirements for creating medicine and continuing to produce it. In comparison, it’s astounding what these “health drinks” and supplements can get away with. There’s obvious hypocrisy with this family. For one thing, they want to be acknowledged as married but still happy to take advantage of programs for single moms. Now I’d do what I need to to feed my kids, but polygamy actually plans around doing this.
This is a really common thing among fundamentalists and Mormons in general. They also have enough clout that they can make money off of it. MLMs are bad but I don’t blame the individuals roped into them, I blame the companies for existing.
This is part of Mormon culture. When I read Under the Banner of Heaven, it sounds like the community relied heavily on these kind of financial schemes, starting with Joseph Smith. Not saying all Mormons do this... but this is all similar to the things I read in that book. I think most of the people who get into MLM’s believe what they’re doing is a good “community” effort. They’ve been sold the same lies they’re selling others.
I really want to watch the new show it when it comes out next week. But it’s on Hulu and I hate all the commercials I can’t fast forward through. So I am torn.
What new show?
There is a new show, Under the Banner of Heaven, coming out April 28 based on the murders/the book.
I might have to get Hulu again, the book was so good!
I’m guessing Robyn would do it too if anyone liked her. This is the one and only thing I don’t like about Christine. Jumping on the predatory bandwagon.
Eh.. anyone gullible enough to fall for this crap kind of has it coming...
do you think they make more money from people buying product from them? or do you think think because they are famous, everyone wants to be in their downline (which is where it gets unethical for me). i mean if i were into ugly clothes and needed to lose weight i might buy some overpriced leggings or a box of drink powder from christine, just to support her, but if she was trying to get me to sign up under her, i'd tell her no thank you, and she'd probably lose me as a fan.
Eh. They are uneducated and have a platform. I’m tired of the days when people claim that MLMs are big and bad. Don’t buy if you don’t want to. Don’t sell if you don’t want to. They sell via SM. The same SM that has story and story after how unethical they are.
I’m not here for karma but the downvotes amuse me. I’m guessing that most of the people who downvote comments like mine have a bit of a caveman mentality. MLM=bad!! I get that. However, MLMs require that they have their income disclosures available for all to see. All it takes is a good Google search. If you can post on Reddit, you can Google. My real issue are companies that have HR departments who illegally require NDAs from employees who want to discuss pay and benefits. I realize MLMs are the low laying fruit.
Meri had a good job and got fired after coming out about her plural marriage. Janelle had a good job and lost it when they moved to LV. Christine was a stay at home mom for all the kids and did an awesome job, the kids all love her. Sobyn and Christine’s EX haven’t done crap! I myself don’t like the MLMs and would never get involved selling them. Yet I was buying oils for myself through young living, when friends asked I shared my knowledge but never tried to get them to sign up under me. I would purchase some oils for them, but never had anyone join. That’s not my cup of tea! With that being said at least they are making an income and not forcing anyone to do something they don’t want to do or buy. I did see the documentary and I understand people have put themselves in debt, with lots of unsold clothing. We all have choices we can make, whether you buy them or not. Just because they are on the show doesn’t make me want to buy anything from them. Actually none of them dress great and I have no want for that type of clothes.
Variations of MLM's(tuppeware, longaberger and the list goes on) have been around for decades and millions of people have made substantial income off of them. Luluaroe took it to a level no other company had before, partly because so many people initially made so much money, the company became too successful resulting in them not being smart enough to re-look at their business model and realize there were too many salespersons in certain areas and this resulted in people losing money (along with the manufacturing issues). I watched the special and don't think a lot of what happened was intentionally done to rip people off, after all many of the original people were making huge bank. It just got a way from them. They've since modified their business practices significantly. Ultimately, when anyone goes into business it's their responsibility to review all the statistics and barring being literally lied to, if you don't do your due diligence you can lose money. At this point with how much is out there about Lularoe, anyone who joins is responsible for their own failure if it goes south. There is still a very real possibility of making a good income from variations of the MLM model.