Zakaria’s Beachbody Affiliate Past Draws Attention to BODi’s MLM History and Legal Disputes

After returning from China in 2013, Zakaria became an affiliate marketer for Beachbody. She said a friend introduced her to the company and encouraged her to promote its products, including Shakeology, which was marketed as a “superfood nutritional shake.”

Zakaria said she stopped using and promoting Shakeology during pregnancy because she was concerned about its vitamin A content.

Beachbody confirms Zakaria was an independent distributor

Beachbody, now known as BODi, confirmed in a 2013 statement that Zakaria was one of the company’s approximately 300,000 “independent Team Beachbody distributors.”

A company spokesperson said it would be a “misrepresentation” to conflate Zakaria’s time at Beachbody with BODi’s current business and operations.

Beachbody faced criticism and legal challenges

Beachbody’s multilevel-marketing model and product claims have faced criticism and legal scrutiny over the years. The company was accused of falsely promoting an innovative anti-aging treatment; that case was voluntarily dismissed. It also faced allegations involving false statements, misrepresentations and misleading income promises made to contractors.

Beachbody was also involved in a copyright dispute involving OrderLegalSteroids.com. The company accused the business of using images of Israeli bodybuilder Sagi Kalev from promotional materials for Beachbody’s BODY BEAST program. Beachbody won the case by default.

2017 consumer-protection settlement

In 2017, Beachbody denied wrongdoing, but the consumer-protection lawsuit was settled for $3.6 million with the city of Santa Monica, California.

Prosecutors alleged that Beachbody made health-related claims about products including Shakeology that were “false, misleading, and not supported by scientific evidence.” They also alleged that the company automatically charged customers’ credit cards for product renewals without their consent. Under the settlement, Beachbody was ordered to pay $1 million to a nonprofit organization promoting health and nutrition.

Beachbody later ended its multilevel-marketing program

In 2023, Beachbody faced a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of defrauding a coach. The lead plaintiff, a schoolteacher, said he joined Beachbody to earn additional income but spent $20,000 of his own money on expenses linked to his coaching role. He claimed he earned about $50 per month while working approximately 50 hours.

The following year, the company dropped its multilevel-marketing programs in favor of a “single-level affiliate” model. A class-action settlement was reached in 2025, dismissing all claims, and the case was subsequently formally dismissed.

In a statement to WIRED, BODi said: “Team Beachbody was a peer-to-peer sales and support network that helped tens of millions of people pursue their health goals through home fitness programs like P90X, Insanity, and 21 Day Fix, and nutritional products like Shakeology.”

Zakaria’s Beachbody connection and other Trumpworld supplement businesses

Zakaria’s history with Beachbody places her among other prominent figures in Trumpworld who have been associated with supplement-related business opportunities. FBI Director Kash Patel previously promoted a supplement claiming to help people “detox” from the coronavirus vaccine.

Nicole Safier, President Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, was reported to earn approximately $300,000 in business income from her own company, which owns a supplement line.

Trump himself previously oversaw Trump Network, a multilevel-marketing company that sold vitamins, home urine tests that purported to identify vitamin deficiencies and snacks for children.

Additional reporting by Matt Giles.