14 DAY TRIAL // Los Angeles comedienne Mara Shapshay is suing Jenny Craig after going on the program in 2011. One year later, she developed gall stones and had to undergo several surgical interventions to have them removed, and she believes it’s no coincidence.
In court documents obtained by TMZ, Shapshay says that Jenny Craig knew all along that their program could cause gallbladder disease but never did anything to let dieters know because, obviously, they would then cancel their subscription.
She is suing for unspecified damages but, judging by the claims she makes, she’s probably going for a lot.
“Shapshay claims she was hospitalized with severe abdominal pain and doctors ultimately discovered roughly 1,000 gallstones in her body,” TMZ reports.
“Mara says she was forced to undergo multiple surgeries and now suffers from fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting... and blames J.C. for a recent miscarriage,” adds the same media outlet.
In July 1994, Jenny Craig agreed to settle a massive class action lawsuit that alleged the program caused gallbladder disease, offering to pay a $10 million (€7.6 million) in cash and $36 million (€27.4 million) in merchandise.
However, it admitted to no wrongdoing, the LA Times reports.
In a statement to the Daily Mail, Jenny Craig said that she’s not in the habit of commenting on pending litigation but the claims made by Shapshay are so outrageous that they must simply be addressed.
“While Jenny Craig is sympathetic to any person suffering from medical conditions, it is irresponsible to claim that the Jenny Craig program was the cause of these issues,” the statement reads.
“Jenny Craig’s program, whose clinical trial was published in JAMA in 2011, is designed by registered dieticians in close consultation with a medical advisory board and reflects the guidelines of major health organizations. […] This lawsuit is a clear attempt to incite the public and seek a quick settlement,” it adds.