Did Reba McEntire talk about relieving arthritis and back pain with CBD gummies in this short video clip? No, that's not true: This clip of McEntire speaking was taken from a live TikTok broadcast where she briefly talked about having been sick with COVID-19 and encouraged her audience to be safe. In a 2020 interview McEntire told pridesource.com that she has has not invested in a CBD company.
The misrepresented video clip appears in a post published by "Flex Journey 2" on December 8, 2021, the same day the page was created. It was captioned:
23yrs Later I'm Pain Free, Thank You Reba!I have dealt with arthritis and back pain for over 23 years. This is my first time not feeling the hurt thnx to Reba's Gummies!
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Mon Dec 13 17:40:27 2021 UTC)
A short video clip of McEntire speaking appears in a CBD Gummy advertisement. A caption appears over the video clip of McEntire speaking that reads:
Reba Shares Medical Gummies For Effective Pain Relief
'it's not fun to constantly deal with muscle and body pain'
(Image source: Facebook screenshot taken on Mon Dec 13 18:00:35 2021 UTC)
This video clip was taken out of context and a false meaning was imputed to it. The words McEntire said are not the words in the text caption. She was not talking about CBD gummies or encouraging people to use CBD gummies; she was talking about her experience being sick with COVID and encouraging her fans to be safe. A copy of "Reba McEntire's TikTok Live" was re-posted on YouTube on August 4, 2021. The clip in question appears at the 21:17 mark. McEntire says:
I just want to say one thing. This has been a very hard year and it's getting rougher again. You guys, please stay safe, wear your masks, do what you have to do ... stay home, just stay safe, stay healthy. It's not fun to get this. I did get it, Rex and I got it and it's not fun. You don't feel good. We were both vaccinated and we still got it. So stay safe, stay home and be protected the best you can.
A similar post that shared this misleading video by a similar Facebook page named "Flex Journey" shares a link to a website theflexjourney.com. This webpage (pictured below) looks like an "Entertainment Today Insider News" Health article. It is titled, "Big Pharma Outraged As Reba McEntire & The Sharks Create New CBD Gummy For Chronic Pain Helping Users Feel '20 Years Younger!'" The article claims:
Reba McEntire, Legendary 'Queen Of Country' Singer and Comedic Actress, netted the biggest deal in Shark Tank history as all 6 Sharks teamed up to seed the company with an a whopping $50 million dollars! In just a short 6 months, Reba's product has completely disrupted the Pain and Chronic illness industry in the United States, and with the help of the Sharks, they are now ready to take over the world market.
This is not true. A list of all the products to appear on the ABC show "Shark Tank" can be found on abc.com. The list, updated on December 10, 2021, can be searched using the Ctrl+F feature. No products featuring the words gummies, CBD, Reba or Botanical appear in the list. In a September 22, 2020, article in pridesource.com McEntire answered a question about claims she had invested in a CBD company:
There was one out just this past week about everybody up in arms about me investing in a CBD store or company or something. Well, I've never done that. And then somebody was telling me, 'Well, I saw it; here it is,' and I said, 'Well, I didn't do that,' and then another friend in another part of the country sent it to me and said, 'Did you do this?' I did not invest in a CBD company. And then there was a lot of very famous entertainers in this article that said, 'Reba's turned me onto this CBD; I am just so thrilled.' Garth Brooks being one of them. I don't see how they get away with it.
This "Entertainment Today" logo is not connected to a real entertainment website. Lead Stories has previously debunked (here and here) false ads using this fake Shark Tank endorsement article template and formula, and has reported on ads that used celebrity names without permission to falsely tout their endorsements.
(Image source: theflexjourney.com screenshot taken on Mon Dec 13 20:59:16 2021 UTC)
