Is the tide turning on Steven Bartlett? Diary of a CEO podcast millionaire has been embroiled in fakery rows and slammed for ‘misleading’ ads – as people question where his fortune came from

On the face of it, things only seemed to be going up for Diary Of A CEO millionaire Steven Bartlett. 

At 31, he is the youngest ever entrepreneur to join the line-up on Dragons’ Den with a torrent of successful businesses in his wake; Bartlett is the founder of ThirdWeb, Flight Story and Flight Fund, and previously the Social Chain. 

Meanwhile, his Diary Of A CEO podcast has featured the likes of former One Direction star Liam Payne, Frank Lampard and Molly Mae Hague and was ranked in the global top 10 on Spotify in 2023. 

Now, however, the tide appears to be turning – and not at all in Bartlett’s favour. 

Last week, Bartlett’s nutrition adverts with Zoe and Huel were banned by a watchdog for being ‘misleading’. Days later, Bartlett was ruthlessly mocked online after an old video of him engaging in a rap battle resurfaced. 

Coming on top of a ‘fakery row’ at the start of the year, concerns over the views of his podcast guests and even questions about where his millions have come from, it doesn’t spell good news for the BBC’s beloved Dragon. 

Speaking to FEMAIL, a branding expert revealed Bartlett is in danger of facing a ‘fall from grace’ after being seen as increasingly ‘inauthentic’ and ‘out of touch’ with his audience. 

‘Sadly, the public likes to see a fall from grace, and Steven is the current poster boy,’ Hayley Knight – co-founder and Communications Director at BE YELLOW PR agency – said. 

‘As Bartlett’s fame and influence have grown, so has the scrutiny. His perceived overexposure is becoming heavily criticised, and he is increasingly seen as inauthentic, and out of touch with his audience. 

‘His association with hustle culture, and the pressures of entrepreneurship also invite backlash, as they seem outdated and goes against a society that is leaning more towards mindfulness and work-life balance.’ 

As Hayley points out, public opinion seems to have turned again Steven, who just earlier this year seemed to be the most popular Dragon on the panel. 

Here, FEMAIL takes a closer look at where it’s all started to go wrong for the Dragons’ Den tycoon.  

Nutrition adverts banned for being misleading

Steven Bartlett’s nutrition adverts for Zoe and Huel were banned by advertising watchdog for being ‘misleading’ last week. 

Three sponsored posts were shared on Facebook in February and March in which the Dragons Den’s star praised the products from the health science brands.

However, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has now claimed that the ads were ‘misleading’ as they did not make it clear that Bartlett had a financial interest in both brands.

He is an investor in Zoe and a director at Huel.

Both Huel and Zoe have disputed the ban, arguing it is clear from the ads there is a commercial relationship and that consumers do not need to know the ‘exact nature’ of those relationships.

The advert for Zoe, which offers health testing and dietary advice services, featured an image of Bartlett with a Zoe patch on his arm, with text in the form of a quote from Bartlett which stated: ‘If you haven’t tried Zoe yet, give it a shot. It might just change your life.’

Defending the ad, Zoe said the average consumer would understand that there was a commercial relationship if a celebrity appeared in an ad for a brand, and argued that the consumer did not need to know the exact nature of that relationship.

Zoe said that if it was obliged to include a specific disclosure about the nature of Bartlett’s status as an investor in Zoe, this would have a wider impact on other brands and influencers.

The ASA says it received two complaints that it wasn’t clear from the advert that he had a commercial interest in the company.

Huel, known for its vitamin-enriched food items – whose ads featured Bartlett stating that its Daily Greens powder was the ‘best product’ it had released, argued that consumers had no doubt about the existence of such commercial relationships when they saw the endorsement within a paid-for ad taken out by a company.

Hayley commented: ‘Though you can’t deny that he has achieved a lot for someone his age, he has also received a lot of backlash over his business and business decisions. 

‘I think one of the main issues for Steven is overexposure, and his self promotion, meaning people may be becoming fatigued and sceptical with him and his content. 

‘With his profile, also comes great responsibility, which with the recent advertising news, and previous claims of financial misleadings and spreading misinformation on his podcast, people feel that he is taking advantage of his following, and becoming arrogant. 

‘They are seeing his content as insincere, boastful and untrustworthy.’

Mocked over resurfaced footage of a rap battle 

Things only got worse for Bartlett this week, as fans were left stunned by resurfaced footage of the entrepreneur taking part in a rap battle as a youngster.  

In the clip, Bartlett can be seen rapping as his alter-ego, Lyricist, and is taking the project very seriously. 

His rap featured lyrics about the potato famine including: ‘You’re Ireland’s only last hope when it comes to rapping. 

‘Considering the fact you’re such a blatant cabbage, Ireland are going to lose another precious vegetable like the potato famine.’

At 10 seconds long, the clip shows a baby-faced Steven competing in a rap battle against an opponent called ‘Rawsoul’. 

The rap video only added fuel to the fire caused by the advertising furore, as Bartlett was ruthlessly mocked on social media. 

One person wrote ‘I’m flabbergasted’ followed by several laughing emojis while another exclaimed ‘This can’t be real’ and completed their post with a crying emoji. 

Dragons’ Den ‘fakery’ storm

Earlier this year, Bartlett became embroiled in a Dragons’ Den ‘fakery’ storm after investing in a controversial ‘ear seed’ company that claimed it could aid recovery from ME on an episode of the show. 

Bartlett had offered Giselle Boxer, from Sheffield, £50,000 for 12.5 per cent of her company Acu Seeds in an episode broadcast at the start of the year on the BBC.

Boxer made history as the first person ever to receive six offers on the Den for her £30 gold plated ear seeds which she said had ‘helped to heal’ her ME and helped with conditions including anxiety and insomnia – and she chose entrepreneur Bartlett.

His brother and business partner Jason joined the board of the company in January and in a social media post, Ms Boxer said she was ‘working closely’ with Stephen Bartlett as her business boomed.

But following hundreds of complaints to the BBC and to Ofcom, Jason Bartlett quit as a director – with documents at Companies House showing he quit on February 14.

The BBC later pulled the episode at the centre of the storm off iPlayer. Steven’s representatives did not respond to a request for comment at the time. 

Ms Boxer has also claimed she was recruited by Dragons’ Den producers to take part.

The appearance of the alternative medicine, a form of acupuncture, on the programme courted controversy among doctors and experts. 

ME support organisations accused her of promoting ‘unfounded’ claims that her product could be a potential cure for the illness which affects at least 250,000 people in the UK.

They said there was no scientific evidence to support the use of the seeds. Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) causes extreme tiredness, sleeping problems and brain fog.

Giselle told The Mirror: ‘Funnily enough they contacted me and I received an email from a researcher there and I initially thought it was a spam email. 

‘We went through the different stages of the application process and there was so much due diligence and they really looked into every part of my business before I went in to pitch to the Dragons.’

She said she ‘never said the ear seeds are a cure’ and ‘I have always said ME is a complex condition and that a combination of healing approaches is what I believed supported my recovery’. 

Questions raised over Bartlett’s wealth and role in The Social Chain 

The Dragons’ Den tycoon is thought to be worth millions, though his exact net worth isn’t known. 

But last year questions where raised over whether the ‘Happy Sexy Millionaire’ really was as rich as he claimed to be, with entrepreneurs claiming the story of his fortune was based on ‘misdirection and half-truths’. 

The 31-year-old founded a social media firm called Social Chain in Manchester in 2014, with his website previously boasting how he ‘took his company public at 27 years old, reaching a market valuation of $600million before he resigned’. 

Mr Bartlett stepped down as joint-CEO of the firm in 2020 and it was not until October the following year that the company was said to be worth some $620million when it floated in Frankfurt. In February last year, the company sold for just £7.7million. 

Entrepreneur Timothy Armoo claimed: ‘The truth is the Social Chain story was built off misdirection and half-truths.

‘It’s disingenuous at best. Steve has done a great job of branding himself as a successful media personality. His podcast also gets some great guests. But it looks like the foundation and the story is not what it seems. Make of this what you wish.’

US businessman Sam Parr also expressed confusion at the £7.7million price tag for Social Chain.

He wrote: ‘I thought this was a big public company worth hundreds of millions. I don’t understand this. Can someone explain?’

However, Wanja Sören Oberhof, the other CEO of Social Chain, ridiculed the row and said Bartlett had been key to growing the firm to its value.

He said: ‘A bit of gaga discussion here on twitter. Steven Bartlett and I scaled the business together as Co-CEOs and he was essential to bringing it to EUR 650 million valuation. But haters will always hate.’ 

Branded ‘out of touch’ by Dragons’ Den viewers 

In the most recent series of Dragons’ Den, which aired in January this year, Bartlett was increasingly branded as ‘out of touch’ by viewers. 

In one episode, Lottie Whyte and Joe Gray, both 34, from London, impressed the Dragons with their heartfelt story behind their sports recovery business, Myo Master. 

But Diary of a CEO podcaster Steven was left concerned that the sports recovery market was already oversaturated, foreseeing that this would be a ‘real threat’ to the business. 

He explained: ‘I’ve been sent so many massage guns like this, that kind of look quite similar from so many different brands. And that for me is a real kind of threat to this business over the long term.

‘I’ve seen all of this before. And what I said at the start of this is, these massage guns, they send me this stuff all the time and it’s just piling up in my house.’

But the entrepreneur, 31, was soon left red-faced by Lottie’s quick response, as she soon shut down his comments and left the other Dragons in fits of laughter. 

Lottie said: ‘With all due respect, you’re not our core customer to be honest. Our core customer isn’t getting sent free Therabodies. 

‘They’re people who love sport – they love running, they go to Parkrun, they sign up for 10k runs. We meet thousands and thousands of them.’ 

Former Manchester United star and football pundit Gary, responded ‘Good point!’, as the camera zoomed in on a very embarrassed Steven, who was lost for words at the retort.

Viewers said afterwards: ‘The way he was absolutely seething. I love her’; ‘Bartlett is so out of touch with the real world.’ ‘Nahhh he got humbled. Surprised he didn’t throw a Huel advert in there.’

Brand expert Hayley said: ‘I feel that he’s lost his way, originally positioning himself as a role model for the people, his content has become perceived as narcissistic and out of touch, and he has isolated the people he claimed to support. 

‘I feel that he needs to take a step back and process the platform and influence that he has, and work out who, and how he wants to influence.’ 

Being slammed for encouraging ‘misinformation’ on his podcast 

Steven’s Diary Of A CEO podcast is one of his biggest successes, interviewing the likes of Frank Lampard, Molly-Mae Hague, and even claiming Matt Hancock’s first interview when news of his affair was revealed. 

Earlier this year however, Bartlett was accused of ‘spreading misinformation’ on his podcast. 

Speaking on the Chat S*** Get Cancelled podcast, Cáelán Tierney, a Glasgow-based fitness expert said that Mr Bartlett has access to the ‘best dietitians on the planet’ but chooses instead to speak to ‘conspiracy theorists’.

Tierney added that despite some of the guests being medical doctors they had a lack of knowledge with regard to nutrition. 

‘Steven and his podcast [the Diary of a CEO] the biggest factor of nutritionist misinformation on the planet at the minute,’ he said.

‘He has done more for negatively impacting health and nutrition literacy than anyone else. With the guest that he’s platforming the worst of the worst charlatans.’

He pointed to Dr Jason Fung, who has been controversial among scientist and so-called bio-hacker Gary Brecka.

Fung claims that obesity is caused mostly by a hormonal imbalance rather than over eating and says that ‘calories in, calories out’ is too simple.

Meanwhile, Gary Brecka says he can predict ‘when you’re going to die’. The influencer has been slammed by doctors.

The entrepreneur has also shifted his focus in his investments into more health-focused brands.

He is an investor in Tim Spector’s health brand Zoe, which gives personalised advice via an app on what users should eat, based on the results of gut health and blood fat tests and 14 days of blood sugar monitoring. Spector has been a guest on the podcast.

Bartlett has also invested in Whoop, a smart watch, which Bryan Johnson wears and has promoted. Whoop’s founder has also appeared on the podcast.

Another investment of Bartlett’s in Huel, a meal replacement drink. The founder has also appeared on the podcast. 

Other interviews have included a vegan doctor, an exercise professor who says ‘being comfortable causes cancer’ and a dating coach who claimed to reveal the ‘scientifically sexiest’ body types. 

Contradicting himself over Barack Obama story

In May, Steven Bartlett bizarrely contradicted himself as he claimed ex US President Barack Obama gave him advice – only to clarify that they ‘didn’t have a conversation’. 

Speaking in an interview with The Times, the British business magnate revealed how he once shared a stage with the American politician. 

He was referring to the VTEX Day 2019 summit in São Paulo, Brazil, from five years ago.

The social media savvy businessman was telling the outlet about being  ‘on the verge of urinating into his own underwear’ while making a school speech aged 14 – ‘fast-forward ten years from that traumatic day, I’m headlining alongside Barack Obama in front of 10,000 people in São Paulo’.

He continued that there are ‘two things Barack Obama said to him that he’s always remembered’ – which were how he made his decision for ‘getting’ Osama bin Laden and his thoughts on diversity.

But when the Times interviewer asked about the meeting, Steven clarified that they were ‘in the same space’, and were ‘both backstage’.

However, after being prodded on if they spoke to one another, the Dragons’ Den star admitted they ‘didn’t have, like, a conversation’.

Bartlett had appeared to contradict himself in his comments about meeting the former US president. 

Steven may well be manifesting a long sought-after dream.

In December, when asked by the Guardian who his dream podcast guest would be, he replied: ‘Michelle and Barack Obama. And I’d love to interview Elon Musk. Donald Trump? No. I have no interest in interviewing him.’

Despite this apparent ‘fall from grace’ however, brand expert Hayley said the recent developments would ‘unlikely’ affect the success of his businesses. 

However, she did stress the importance of the investor maintaining his public image over the coming months.

Hayley said: ‘It’s unlikely that it will affect his success long term, as his career isn’t built solely on public perception, rather than business acumen. 

‘And public figures go through cycles of popularity and backlash, and those like Steven Bartlett still manage to maintain their success despite public opinion. And controversy often heightens someone’s profile.

‘However, it may affect his relationships with brands and investors, who want to work with people who are trustworthy and forthcoming, which have been his recent failings. 

‘And he will need to think seriously about how his actions may have affected the public perception of the brands he works with and invests in, as they now appear untrustworthy.’