Bristol Palin is at the center of a controversy after being accused of ‘Photoshopping’ an image of herself promoting a brand of detox and “weight loss” teas.
The 28-year-old former Teen Mom star and Dancing With the Stars contestant posted an Instagram picture showing her looking fit and toned alongside a caption singing the virtues of the “butterfly tea” blend of Teami teas.
In the photo, the 28-year-old wears a dark sports bra and yoga pants that show off her trim midriff and toned abs.
“You all know that I love being a #teamipartner, but omgggg, I’ve been drinking this @teamiblends butterfly tea recently, and I am officially obsessed,” the mother of three wrote. “The ingredients are so good for you and it is delishhhh!!”
Bristol, who has been a Teami “partner” for a while now and often puts up posts promoting them on Instagram, then goes on to list the benefits of the tea.
“The butterfly pea flower is amazing for so many things, like improving digestion , and has so many antioxidants that it can help prevent premature aging,” she says.
The picture garnered more than 22,000 likes within 24 hours after she posted it to Instagram, and hundreds of fans have been posting admiring comments.
“You are tiny! How in the world did you have 3 babies?! Lol. Love you and your hot mom bod… blessings from Cali,” a fan commented.
“She gets her great looks from her mom,” another fan wrote.
However, some fans were critical of Bristol plugging weight loss tea.
“I just don’t get why you promote this. You have kids yourself. It’s not regulated by the FDA,” one Instagram follower wrote. “It can cause liver issues, racing heart and diarrhea… Please no one take this stuff-just eat well and exercise. Short cuts don’t work.”
However, the biggest controversy centered around accusations that she “Photoshopped” the photo used in the promotional post. One user, @bossieaussie83, slammed Bristol for promoting the tea, calling it “100% ineffective”. She then added in response to another comment, “I’m an expert in photoshop having done it for over 20 years, and I can tell you this is also extremely misleading because she’s been nipped and tucked via PS. So there’s that moral issue too.”
However, Bristol’s mom, politician Sarah Palin, stepped in to defend her daughter. She hit back, “Haha silly bossyaussie83… have you ever seen Bristol in person? GORGEOUS! To falsely accuse… stating the pic is photoshopped… quite silly really. Curious why you follow Bristol and spend your time commenting on her?”
@bossieaussie83, wasn’t standing down however, tagging body-positivity activist Jameela Jamil and saying, “I just side with @jameelajamilofficialon this. She makes amazing points when it comes to this particular product.
“I see it a ethical issue selling laxatives that can have harmful effects on women to women who just want to lose weight. This isn’t a part of a healthy lifestyle. Bristol is totally gorgeous, but so are all women.”
Bristol announced she was quitting Teen Mom OG back in March after appearing for only a season as a replacement for Farrah Abraham. She expressed displeasure about the way she was being treated by the showrunners and the way she was portrayed on the show.
“Teen mom OG wasn’t a fit for me, it took away my peace and honestly my peace has a price tag that no one but God can afford,” she wrote. “I don’t entertain bs, and walking away from this show allows God to rebuild me in the right direction.”
Bristol has more than 550,000 followers on Instagram and she often posts pics of herself, her children, and her family. She has three children, Tripp, 10, Sailor, 3, and Atlee 2.