Eugenia Cooney, the controversial beauty vlogger, has been the center of concerns due to her alarming physical state. Originally from Massachusetts, USA, Cooney has over 723K followers on Instagram and 2.7M Followers on TikTok. Her content has generated both praise and criticism, with many urging her to seek treatment urgently.
Now it seems like fans are happy she is taking ‘baby-steps’ as she recently showed on a video a cute moment with her mom, where she is shown eating some fries and salad at Rhode Island. “I cried!!!!!! So proud” “I really hope she gets healthy as can be I always liked her she seems very sweet and genuine” people wrote on the comments.
@tiktokteaspillings I feel like im dreaming this is amazing. #eugeniacooney #eugenia #recoveryispossible ♬ original sound – tiktokteaspillings
Eugenia’s Controversial Online Career
She started posting beauty tutorials in 2010, but her journey has been marked by emotional ups and downs, controversies, and questionable decisions, especially regarding her eating disorders.
While the exact moment these disorders began is unknown, her first major controversy arose in 2016 when advocacy groups demanded YouTube close her channel for promoting anorexia.
Cooney defended herself at that time, denying any attempt to negatively influence her followers and asserting she had never encouraged anyone to lose weight or change their appearance to resemble her. However, in 2019, she announced a temporary withdrawal from social media to seek medical help, marking a moment of apparent recovery-seeking.
Hey guys! I’ve been offline for a while and I’m sooo sorry if I worried anyone! That was not my intention at all. I’ve just been taken a much needed break from the negativity and having some positive time offline. I’ll be back soon! 🙂
— Eugenia Cooney (@Eugenia_Cooney) January 28, 2019
People online even asked to sign a petition on Change.org, calling for her temporary ban on YouTube and urging her to seek medical help, arguing that her influence could be harmful to those struggling with eating disorders, also blaming Eugenia’s mother. They even called repeatedly 911 to go check on Eugenia.
Eugenia’s friends also tried making an intervention: she was invited to an escape room, but in reality, she was about to be ambushed. “They sat me down … and they started bringing concerns up to me,” Cooney said, as she got 5150’d, a law code for the temporary, involuntary psychiatric commitment of individuals who present a danger to themselves or others due to signs of mental illness.
“I guess it’s still hard to talk about at first, especially, but I was telling them that I was thinking about getting help and was open to that.” the 29-year-old vlogger admitted.
She said she felt betrayed by her friends, and she decided to cut ties.
Recovery and Relapse
In July 2019, famous YouTuber Shane Dawson released a video titled “The Return of Eugenia Cooney,” where Eugenia admits to suffering from an eating disorder without actually naming the disorder out loud.
“I’m revisiting this in 2023 and I’m so sad to see Eugenia is the worst she has ever been. She looked so healthy and beautiful during her recovery. The color returned to her cheeks and she was glowing. I fear she hasn’t much time left in this world if she doesn’t turn herself around soon.” wrote a youtube user on the comments.
In the video, she reveals her struggles with self-esteem and the harassment she has faced online, including cruel and derogatory comments about her appearance and health.
Although her return later that year showed signs of improvement, these advances were short-lived, and Cooney soon found herself relapsing, until recently, where she showed herself eating fries and a salad. This was a big step, since people always asked Eugenia to eat on camera, which she refused to.
Let’s just hope Eugenia is finally on a good mental state, where she can truly feel comfortable and healthy.