Life Uncut podcast hosts Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne have doubled down on spreading “dangerous” medical misinformation before finally issuing an apology.
On May 8, the podcast hosts uploaded an episode titled: “I used a tampon correctly, and I ended up losing both of my legs”, featuring model and toxic shock syndrome (TSS) survivor Lauren Wasser.
However, fans were quick to call out the podcasters for spreading medical misinformation after Lauren claimed that tampons contain “pesticides” and “chemicals” that can kill you.
Dr Michael Mrozinski took to TikTok on May 20 (12 days after the episode went live) to call the former Bachelor stars out for spreading misinformation about TSS on their podcast and not removing the episode and related social media clips.
On May 22, he shared screenshots of a conversation he had with them where they doubled down.
Dr Michael Mronzinski accuses Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne of failing to take accountability for spreading ‘DANGEROUS’ medical misinformation on their Life Uncut podcast
Michael outed the podcast hosts for failing to take accountability for spreading “dangerous” misinformation.
In screenshots shared to his Story, the podcast hosts told Michael that “products we put inside of ourselves with direct contact to the bloodstream” should not be allowed to contain pesticides.
“I get that your page is designed to call out people,” they said. “But I’m frustrated that instead of arguing that more research should be conducted and tighter regulations should be enforced, this is where the argument stands now.”
Michael clapped back, stating the ladies “only removed the video because of the backlash”.
“Even now, you don’t seem to think you’ve done anything wrong,” he responded. “You’re letting your personal beliefs get in the way of facts, and that’s dangerous.”
Brittany and Laura then claimed they deleted any controversial content because they hadn’t “realised that the information included… had been misleading”.
“The point I’m making is that we deserve more transparency around menstrual products and their potential harms,” they added. “I’d like to question what your intention is.”
Dr Michael urges podcast hosts to have their medical information proofread by ‘someone in the field’
Later in the conversation, Michael urged the podcast hosts to have any medical information proofread by experts before sharing it with their audience.
“Sometimes, it’s important to reflect and wonder why there was such a big backlash,” he told Brittany and Laura.
“Is it because we don’t want to look into ways of reducing TSS? No. It’s more likely to be because there’s no credible evidence to categorically state that regular tampons, through the chemicals they’re treated with, cause TSS.”
He then explained that a potential Life Uncut listener may “grasp onto” the idea that TSS “is only something that happens with regular (chemically treated) tampons, and so might ignore the signs of TSS if they were using organic tampons.”
He then urged the podcasters to be “very careful” when talking about medical information, advising them to “have it read by someone in the field that you trust before putting it out in the public.”
According to Mayo Clinic, TSS is a “rare, life-threatening complication of certain types of bacterial infections”.
It can be caused by skin wounds, surgery, and the use of tampons and other devices, such as menstrual cups and diaphragms.
Life Uncut‘s Brittany Hockley & Laura Byrne APOLOGISE for spreading ‘medically incorrect’ information on their Life Uncut podcast
On May 22 (14 days after their podcast episode went live). Brittany and Laura issued an apology on the Life Uncut Instagram page.
“Recently, we interviewed Lauren Wasser, who shared her heartbreaking story about Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS). Lauren contracted TSS as a result of using tampons,” the reality stars wrote.
“During that episode, there was a comment made that was medically incorrect,” they said.
They then went on to share Lauren’s claims that tampons contain “chemicals” and “pesticides” that can be fatal.
“Although it’s well documented that tampons may contain chemicals and dioxins, these are not responsible for causing TSS. TSS results from toxins produced by bacteria,” they explained.
They also addressed the “misconception” that “TSS from a tampon” is only caused by leaving it in for too long.
“The episode has been temporarily archived while we make this edit. It will be available again soon,” they finished.
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