Infamous ‘raw vegan’ YouTuber Yovona Mendoza, more commonly known as Rawvana, was happily riding the surging wave of veganism until she was caught eating fish in Bali.

Ever since she has been on a damage limitation campaign to appease her 1.3 million Instagram followers and 467k YouTube Subscribers – but the more she says sorry, the more she seems to make it worse.

When Rawvana was initially exposed for eating fish, it brought an onslaught of shock and horror among a community which helped her make a name and build a career for herself.

The fateful moment severely dented Rawvana’s reputation and ultimately threatened her entire career.

So the YouTuber first posted a 33-minute apology to justify her actions, in which she explained she had adapted her diet due to serious health concerns.

But her explanation has only further angered vegans who feel her apology only damages the vegan cause further and supports misconceptions about the diet.

Others felt it was unethical for Rawvana to have continued selling her diet when she was having health issues herself.

Doubled efforts

Since the apology, Rawvana has doubled down on her attempts to minimise the damage.

She reached out to BuzzFeed this weekend to explain that her ‘intentions are and have always been good’, and explained that she was not ready to share the changes in her diet yet at the time she was caught out.

“I wanted to make sure this is something I really had to do, and would really make me feel better before sharing it publicly,” she said.

“I’m listening to my body and learning to adapt to eat without self-judgment towards myself and others. It makes me sad to see so much hate on the internet.”

Rawvana explained that she suffered from many health issues while on a raw vegan diet and had once adopted a 25-day water fast.

Doctors later told her she had small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and that she should reintroduce meat and eggs to her diet, she explained.

Rawvana faced a huge backlash for her apology as vegans felt she was blaming a plant-based diet for her illness and having a detrimental effect on veganism as a whole.

But Rawvana told BuzzFeed she never blamed veganism for her illness, and said she’s still an advocate for a plant-based diet.

“I do feel this diet has incredible benefits, and the vegan lifestyle brings a greater awareness to the way we live our life that we can all learn from and grow,” she said.

“When I’m ready, I plan to share my recovery journey with the public…the good, the bad, the doubts, and everything in between.”

But despite her attempts to appease the vegan community, there’s still a lot of anger for the way the situation has unfolded.

• Read: Famous YouTuber blasted for hitting, shoving and spitting on her pet dog in video post

What do you think of Rawvana’s apology? Tell us in the comments section below!

Oli Gross

Oli’s career and personal ethical values both help shape his reporting of the diverse world of veganism. His background is in local newspaper and magazine journalism, and his work has included reporting court cases, celebrity interviews, business analysis, food and drink features and government legislation.

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