TikTok influencer Brittany Miller — who has millions of followers — is issuing an apology for lying about having cancer.
The British social media star, 29, shared a lengthy TikTok video on Monday, November 10, explaining that she told people online she had cancer back in 2017 while going through a mental health crisis.
The influencer’s video comes after British newspaper The Sun published a report on November 4 detailing how Miller’s “small online community were left shocked when she claimed to have been diagnosed with stage 3 gastric cancer” in 2017 when she was 21.
“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 began Monday’s video. “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.”
Miller explained, “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.”
“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.”
Miller has more than 3.5 million followers on TikTok, where she shares updates on her life, including raising her 16-month-old identical twin sons, Elijah and Emiliano, and her shopping hauls. Her TikTok profile has received over 225 million “likes.”
According to Miller, at the time she made the false claims, her friends created a fundraising page on her behalf, but she had the page shut down “as soon as I saw there was donations,” noting there were only two donations at the time she saw the page and had it removed.
“I didn’t take a penny from it. I’ve grown from this. I am working on being the best version of myself,” she said.
“It took me a long time to understand why I did it and I forgive myself because I was mentally ill, and I am so deeply sorry to anyone that I’ve upset or triggered from saying what I said,” she continued.
Miller denied that she lied about having cancer “for likes or followers,” adding, “I know how horrible this disease is and I know how much it affects people. So, for that, I am so, so sorry. I admitted what I did and I said sorry to the people that I hurt.”
After experiencing her mental health crisis, Miller said she “moved away from my hometown because I wanted to work on myself,” and credited her partner and father of her sons, Ash Griffiths, with helping her overcome her mental health struggles.
“I wanted to surround myself with people that were gonna help me and I got a job with a fundraising company and that’s how I met Ash,” she wrote. “Him and his family helped me so much, and I’ll forever be grateful. He was my light at the end of the tunnel. He helped me be well again. He helped me forgive myself, and although I am so, so emotional when I talk about this, I am mentally well again, and I’m so proud of where I’ve come, for being in that dark place to now, and I’m here because I want to be an advocate of a mental health.”
She continued, “I want to help people because I know what it’s like to be in a dark, dark place and I want to help people and I also just want to say a massive, massive thank you to all the people out there that support me and still follow me. When you didn’t know my truth, you still believed in me.”
Miller concluded her video by saying, “If I could go back and change what I did, I would do it in a heartbeat. It was one stupid sentence that I said almost a decade ago, and I’ve learned so much from it.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
