A British influencer with 3.3million followers on TikTok has been exposed after lying about her cancer diagnosis. And those who know the star have revealed the dark truth behind the scandal
A British influencer with millions of followers has been exposed for keeping a dark secret – and now she’s finally broken her silence.
Brittany Miller is known for sharing wholesome content about life as a loving mum to twins with her 3.5million TikTok followers. From showing off her nutritious toddler recipes to enjoying family walks in the woods, she’s carefully crafted a lucrative brand as a lifestyle guru.
But back in 2017, she was a little-known 21-year-old living in Oxfordshire, dreaming of becoming a major social media star. Her small online following was heartbroken when she suddenly revealed she had been diagnosed with stage three gastric cancer.
Friends quickly rallied around her. A crowdfunding page was launched to offer financial support, and interest in her tragic story began to grow. But as swiftly as her cancer announcement spread, it vanished without explanation. The diagnosis was never mentioned again, and any trace of the story seemed to disappear from the internet.
It wasn’t until 2020, when Brittany partnered with a breast cancer awareness charity, that her former best friend decided to come forward – revealing the entire illness had been fabricated. The influencer had seemingly pleaded for cash to help fund treatment for a cancer that didn’t exist.
READ MORE: ‘I send Lucy Letby Christmas cards and Disney gifts but prison has made bizarre change’READ MORE: Davina McCall’s health woes from drug addiction hell to cancer diagnosis after key sign
In a lengthy post exposing Brittany, her ex-pal Beth wrote online: “Brittany was my best friend from the age of 16 through to 21. Brittany lied about some really awful things that I do not feel comfortable writing on social media, but the latest confession was that in November 2017 she was diagnosed with stage 3 gastric cancer. When I found out I did all the research I could to help her, made her a hamper up of all good products and food that could help her, looked after her, cooked for her, transferred her money to get to her radio therapy appointments/anything she needed.”
Sharing an old selfie with the influencer, she claimed: “She would fall out with me if I was spending time with my family and not her, she would get nasty if I didn’t want go on a night out with her because I was concerned about her illness, she used to make scenarios up such as: ‘It’s the end of my three month radio therapy session. The tumour has shrunk. Please you have to come for a drink with me?’… She also set up a GO FUND ME PAGE and asked I send it to everyone we used to work with to donate to it.”
Despite these claims circulating online for years, Brittany, who shares shopping hauls and parenting content, now has a staggering 3.5million followers on TikTok, with many of her loyal fans having no clue of the scam. But the dark truth has finally come to light as Brittany has broken her silence – admitting she faked cancer.
“I never wanted to talk about this time in my life because it was a very difficult time for me, but I owe it to my followers and people who support me to tell you my truth,” she said in a tearful video on Monday. The influencer then explained that in 2017 she had been suffering from “extremely bad mental health” and was “depressed and suicidal, lost and confused”.
The 29-year-old revealed she lost her partner and her job, and that “lots of things led me to being mentally ill”. Brittany said she “deeply regretted” telling one friend in confidence that she “had an illness, which was cancer”, describing it as “one stupid sentence that I deeply regret”.
Speaking out just days before Brittany’s apology video, a former friend claimed the influencer created the JustGiving page herself and persuaded others to share it on her behalf. “Brittany lied to us all – not just her friends but also her followers online,” they anonymously told The Sun. “Now people are following her and they have no idea what she is really like. Yes it happened years ago but lying about cancer is really wrong. Lots of her followers will have family members living with cancer but little do they know that every time they watch one of her videos, they are giving money to a fraud.”
A source who knew Brittany while growing up in Bicester also told The Mirror that the influencer has managed to deceive her audience for so long by using a disturbing social media tactic. “People from our hometown have known about this years, but it has taken a long time for it to come out because she has since moved away,” they said. “She also has a filter on her comments so any words relating to the story never appear and she actively deletes any that make it through, and blocking the person making the comment.”
Meanwhile, a former friend added: “It’s pretty scary to think she was happy to lie about cancer and makes you wonder just how far she will go to be super successful. This isn’t about getting revenge on her, it’s about people knowing the truth, which they deserve.”
In a bid to set the record straight, Brittany insisted in her video that she didn’t do it for “malicious intent or to scam people.” She continued: “I did it to keep the people in my life close to me. I don’t condone it, I understand why I did it, and I’ve learned from my mistakes. This was not a long running scam.”
Brittany also claimed it was her friends who set up a fundraising page in her name, but she had it immediately taken down when she saw that there donations had been made. “And I am so deeply sorry to anyone who I have triggered, for saying what I said,” she added. “This was years before I was on social media, I didn’t do this for likes or followers. I know how horrible this disease is, and I am so so sorry. I admitted what I did and I said sorry to the people that I hurt.”
The revelation has caused uproar online as many of Brittany’s viewers are deeply upset by the lie. One popular TikToker called Hannah, who was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphona at just 23, said in a furious video: “When we see somebody pretending to go through that, taking empathy, money and support that’s meant for real patients, it’s not just wrong, it’s cruel.”
Another TikTok influencer with 90,000 followers, known as Louiemills, said in a now-viral video: “People are angry and frustrated because a lot of people didn’t know about this information and they’ve been following her.
“Where she deletes comments, you’re not really going to find out much. What people are mad at is that she did it when she was 21, she was old enough, she was grown. It’s not a mistake, you got caught doing it. She needs to apologise to everyone who has suffered through losing someone through cancer or has gone through it.”
Another social media user took to the comments to label her behaviour as “gross,” saying: “I lost a family member because of cancer and there’s people supporting her.” Meanwhile, someone else wrote: “I’ve had cancer since 22. I’ve had it for 3 years, in less than 8 hours I have to get 40% of my liver removed whilst she has the luxury to decide she doesn’t have cancer anymore and live a life that none of us other cancer patients can.” Another outraged user said: “People need to stop normalising this behaviour and then letting her maintain her big following!”
Despite the controversy, Brittany has established a lucrative online career. Her videos typically feature comfort food recipes and shopping hauls from Temu and Shein – brands she profits from via ads and sponsored posts – and are watched by millions of people. Her fiancé Ash Griffiths appears regularly in her clips, and in July last year the couple welcomed identical twin boys, Elijah and Emiliano, who now feature heavily in her posts.
The family recently moved into a luxury home in East Sussex, seemingly funded by Brittany’s TikTok success. The couple also enjoy multiple luxurious holidays a year. But the fresh fury over her fraudulent cancer scam appears to have already taken a hit on her professional life, as Brittany has deleted her management agency’s email address from her social media accounts, hinting that they are no longer working together.
It’s not just Brittany who has been affected by her lies. Her former friends say they now fear being targeted by trolls. A source said: “It feels like trouble follows Brittany. She might have this perfect life on social media but it’s not the truth… she’s built up an incredible following now – and they will support her, no matter what.”
The Mirror has contacted Brittany, Virall People Management Agency and JustGiving for comment.
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
