Self-help guru Tony Robbins has apologised amid widespread backlash after suggesting some women used the #MeToo movement to make themselves "significant".
The 50-year-old made the comments during a self-help seminar he hosted in the American city of San Jose in March.
But video only emerged recently, showing him interacting with a woman who questions him on the #MeToo movement.
"I’m not mocking the #MeToo movement, I’m mocking victimhood," he says to the woman.
"Anger is not empowerment. What you are seeing is people making themselves significant by making somebody else wrong.
"If you use the #MeToo movement to try to get significance and certainty by attacking and destroying someone else, you haven’t grown an ounce," he continued.
"All you’ve done is basically use a drug called significance to make yourself feel good."
The founder of the #MeToo movement, Tarana Burke, denounced the comments on Twitter, saying the campaign was not about victimisation but about survivors.
"Women are not to blame for the deep seeded misogyny that you and men like your ‘friend’ are mired in," she said on Twitter.
"This moment is so damaging especially with how influential @TonyRobbins is. We have a hard enough time trying to shift the narrative about what this movement really is and he stands in front of thousands of his followers and completely misrepresents the @MeTooMVMT."
Self-help guru Tony Robbins. Source: Netflix
Mr Robbins has since apologised for the comments, saying it failed to reflect the respect he held for the movement and Ms Burke.
"I apologise for suggesting anything other than my profound admiration for the #MeToo movement,” he said in a statement on Facebook.
"Let me clearly say, I agree with the goals of the #MeToo movement and its founding message of 'empowerment through empathy,' which makes it a beautiful force for good.
"I teach that 'life happens for you, not to you' and what I’ve realised is that while I’ve dedicated my life to working with victims of abuse all over the world, I need to get connected to the brave women of #MeToo.”
