Has Netflix’s ‘Liver King’ Really Changed His Ways? ‘Liver Still Is King,’ He Says
Has controversial fitness and nutrition influencer Brian Johnson really changed his ways? The star of Netflix’s new documentary Untold: The Liver King has said he’s given up his extreme diet and lifestyle. But a recent update suggests the change might not be as dramatic as he promised.
Netflix profiles self-proclaimed ‘Liver King’ in new documentary
Johnson – aka “The Liver King” – stars in a Netflix documentary that explores his rise to fame and subsequent downfall after he admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs.
Untold: The Liver King shines a light on the married dad of two who rose to prominence thanks to his promotion of an extreme carnivore diet. In wildly popular videos on Instagram on TikTok, Johnson claimed that he subsisted on an nearly all-meat diet heavy on raw organ meats and testicles. His line of supplements made him rich, but he faced serious scrutiny when evidence surfaced that he’s been spending $11,000 per month on steroids and human growth hormones.
At the end of the hour-long doc, Johnson declares that he’s changed his approach to living. He’s incorporating “vegetables and testicles” into his diet now, he says, and is no longer advocating an all-meat diet.
“I want the world to know I was wrong,” Johnson declares, adding that he’s realized that an “extreme approach to anything ain’t f***ing working out.”
But a quick glance at his social media suggests that The Liver King’s transformation may not have been as dramatic as he claimed.
‘Liver King’ star says his family is a ‘different family now’
On May 14, shortly after the documentary hit Netflix, Johnson took to Instagram to share an update with his nearly 3 million followers.
“Liver still is KING,” he captioned the video.
“As a family we said yes to making a movie. Most of it seems to be true. Liver still is king. We eat nose to tail every day,” Johnson says in the clip.
The divisive fitness guru then goes on to share that while his family – which includes his wife Barbara and his two sons, Rad Ikal and Stryker – has made some changes to their diet, such as adding fish to menu, they haven’t changed their core principles.
“Even today, seafood Wednesday, testicle ceviche, fish eggs, bone and skin on sardines, the nines,” he says. “We’re a different family now than the family that made the movie. A rebranding, sure. An evolution, more accurate. Liver King, the name has never mattered. The message is what matters. The ancestral tenets, that’s what matters. My family is living a pretty good life.”
Johnson goes on to claim that the his nine “ancestral tenets,” which include “sleep,” “move,” and “fight,” are still valid.
“The tenets don’t cost anything,” he declares. “Accessible to everybody. Can change your life tomorrow. We hope to share it. And if the risk-benefit seems favorable and if it doesn’t cost anything and the benefit seems to be a better life, the name never mattered. Forget who said it. If you have questions, I’ll answer.”
Untold: The Liver King is streaming on Netflix.
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