Everything to Know About Controversy Surrounding Jay Shetty

British podcaster and life coach Jay Shetty is facing scrutiny amid allegations of plagiarizing social media content and lying about his life history.

According to a 2023 LA Times profile about the 36-year-old author, Shetty started his journey as a monk in 2010, at the age of 22.

According to the profile by Amy Kaufman, Shetty traveled to India, underwent the traditional head-shaving ritual, and relinquished all material possessions. During his time at monasteries like Govardhan EcoVillage and Radha Gopinath Ashram, he resided in spartan conditions, sharing quarters with 10-12 fellow men.

In 2013, Shetty reportedly realized that monastic life was not his calling. “I deeply realized that I wasn’t meant to be a monk,” he told the LA Times. “Monk life is very disciplined because you’re following a sacred practice that’s the same for everyone, and I had my own way,” adding, “But I felt really embarrassed. I was like, ‘Oh, crap, everyone was right. I wasn’t good enough.’ I was carrying around a lot of guilt and shame.”

However, John McDermott of The Guardian has alleged numerous inconsistencies in Shetty’s narratives, particularly concerning his life between 2010 and 2013.

Rolling Stone India has contacted Shetty’s representatives for comment.

McDermott’s investigation alleges discrepancies in Shetty’s stated age, with various statements indicating he was 18, 21, or 22 at the time. The Think Like A Monk author’s spiritual mentor, Gauranga Das, and his legal team confirmed their meeting in 2007, suggesting Shetty would have been 19 or 20 years old.

Furthermore, in McDermott’s piece, testimonies from individuals acquainted with Shetty during that period dispute the duration of his stay in India. While he did travel to India in the mid-to-late 2000s, these sources assert it was for a shorter period than Shetty alleges.

According to the report, associates have alleged that during his time as a monk, Shetty spent most of his time not in Mumbai but at Bhaktivedanta Manor, an estate outside London. While Gauranga Das and Shetty’s legal team maintain that he spent only a few months there before relocating to India, Shetty’s travel blog, which was allegedly made private during McDermott’s investigation, suggests otherwise. In a 2011 post, Shetty allegedly discusses returning from “almost four months in India” before engaging in activities in London.

Some individuals also told McDermott that Shetty’s portrayal of his monkhood experience as being completely isolated from society may not align with reality. According to these accounts, during his time as a monk, Shetty was not as secluded as he implies. They allege that he spent a significant portion of this period filming viral YouTube videos in London and was not, as he has previously suggested, fully engrossed in his studies to the point of being oblivious to worldly matters.

One acquaintance recalled, “I saw him in sweatpants more often than I saw him in robes,” indicating a level of casualness that contradicts the image of a deeply immersed monk.

Shetty has also been evasive regarding his religious upbringing, particularly regarding his involvement with the Hare Krishna movement, formally known as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

In addition to the controversies surrounding his past as a monk, Jay Shetty has faced allegations of plagiarizing content on social media. Despite Shetty’s current practice of tagging creators and accounts from which he retrieves videos and posts, several creators interviewed by The Guardian have claimed that Shetty did not obtain permission or provide compensation for reposting their content.

During his investigation, McDermott also delved into Shetty’s Certification School, a self-help course that claims to confer a master’s degree in life coaching to its students.

Before McDermott’s inquiries, the school’s website listed affiliations with several universities, none of which confirmed any association with Shetty’s program upon McDermott’s investigation.

As of Monday evening (March 4), Shetty has not released any statement or comment regarding the accusations leveled against him.

Throughout the weekend, the author of 8 Rules of Love: How to Find It, Keep It, and Let It Go continued to share inspirational clips on his social media platforms. Additionally, he released a new episode of his podcast, On Purpose With Jay Shetty.

This story is still developing, and further updates will be provided as new information emerges.