Influencer issues emotional apology after being exposed for faking stomach cancer and treatments

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.

An influencer has issued a public apology after falsely claiming that she was suffering from cancer.

Brittany Miller posted a video to her TikTok followers addressing the revelation that in 2017, she had lied to a friend and said that she had cancer.

The Sun further reports that the influencer would also claim to be in the hospital and undergoing treatments, such as radiotherapy. A now-deleted fundraising page would later be set up on Brittany's behalf, which she claims she 'didn't take a penny from'.

Police have confirmed that in 2020, Brittany was convicted of fraud by false representation, for which she was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay compensation and costs to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Brittany, 29, went on to gain some 3.5 million followers on TikTok and 500k on Instagram, and is known for haul videos, cooking, and posting about raising her twin boys.

Until now, Brittany has remained silent on the controversy, but she has since published a video on her TikTok page, addressing the matter.

In the video, Brittany said: "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."

Brittany explained that in 2017 she had been suffering with 'extremely bad mental health' at the time, but 'didn't realise how bad it was'.

"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," she said.

It was during this difficult period, the influencer said, that she had told someone within her circle that she was unwell, and had done this 'in confidence'.

"I said I had an illness; this was cancer," she said. "I didn't do it with malicious intent or to scam people. I did it out of desperation, I did it to keep the people close to me, to keep the people in my life close to me.

"I don't condone it, I understand why I did it and I've learnt from my mistakes."

Brittany then explained that after falsely telling someone that she had cancer, she found out that a fundraising page had been set up on her behalf.

"The people that I told then told a couple of others, and there was a fundraising page made on behalf of me, which I knew about," she said. "As soon as I saw there was donations, there was two donations, I had the page immediately shut down, and I didn't take a penny from it."

In the video, she asserted that her actions were not a 'long-running scam', adding: "I admitted what I did and I said sorry to the people that I hurt."

Apologising to people who were affected by her actions, Brittany said: "I am so deeply sorry to anyone that I've upset or triggered from saying what I said."

The influencer went on to say that her false cancer claims had also happened before she became big on social media, and that she 'didn't do this for likes or followers'.

She also credited her fiancè for helping her get to a better place, calling him her 'light at the end of the tunnel', adding: "He helped me be well again and forgive myself.

"I am now mentally well again and am so proud of how far I’ve come. I want to now be an advocate for mental health too."

LADbible Group has approached Brittany Miller for comment.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 to reach a 24-hour crisis center or you can webchat at 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.