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John Oliver Exposes Herbalife And Its Dangerous Focus On Latinos

And he enlisted the help of actor Jaime Camil to warn bilingual audiences.
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By 

Reporter, HuffPost

John Oliver wants to warn Latinos about how dangerous multilevel marketing schemes, like Herbalife, can be.

On Sunday, the host of “Last Week Tonight” dedicated a 30-minute segment to exposing Herbalife and other multilevel marketing companies who’ve been accused of being pyramid schemes. But Oliver went the extra mile and taped two versions of the piece, one specifically addressing Spanish-speaking Latinos.

Oliver first explained how multilevel marketing companies (MLMs) like nutritional supplement company Herbalife are scamming hard working people by promoting a business that promises entrepreneurial independence and wealth despite actual success being hard to achieve. In fact, as Oliver found, it’s only via recruiting other salespeople to create a pyramid network of sales for Herbalife that there is a chance at profit at all.   

The host took on Herbalife specifically, which an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission concluded in its chairwoman Edith Ramirez saying they were “not determined not to have been a pyramid.” And Oliver was particularly worried about the company’s focus on Latinos. 

“Whether Herbalife is pyramid, not a pyramid, or not ‘not’ a pyramid, it is true that Herbalife is growing,” Oliver says. “And a lot of that growth has come from Latino communities, where Herbalife has been aggressively expanding for years.”

In the past, he said, Herbalife has reached out to Latinos via TV spots in hit telenovelas like “La Fea Màs Bella.” And the company even hired former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in 2013 as an advisor. 

“And like MLMs, we would like to direct a message to Latinos in particular,” says in the English version before introducing “Jane The Virgin” star Jaime Camil on stage.

To warn Latinos of the dangers of MLMs, the host uploaded two versions of the segment on YouTube. One the versions completely subtitled in Spanish, and included Camil delivering the closing remarks in Spanish. 

Together the duo said they hoped to create a pyramid of awareness that reaches everyone in the world. Yes, even Beyoncé.

Watch the Spanish version of the video above, and the English version below. 

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Before You Go

27 Stars You Probably Didn't Know Were Latino
Ryan Lochte(01 of27)
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Ryan Lochte is the overnight success who's been around for some time. Born in upstate New York to a Cuban mother ('Ike') and German-Irish father, Lochte was raised mostly in Florida where his father was a swimming coach and where his talents blossomed.One of the most decorated U.S. swimmers ever, Lochte's haul of five shiny medals (2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze), paled with the glare of lights, media attention and fans that followed his every swim, smiling interview and bare chested moment. Alongside chatter about his wins and almost-wins, there has been plenty of speculation about his dating life, his possible TV career, and his penchant for non sequiturs. (credit:AP)
Diana Taurasi(02 of27)
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Voted by fans in 2011 as one of Top 15 players in WNBA history, Taurasi is now leading the U.S. Women's Basketball team onto the medal stand at the London Olympics, where they are assured at least a bronze and are playing for gold on Saturday.Born and raised in California to an Argentine mother and Italian father who was raised in Argentina. Sports runs through the Taurasi bloodline as her father, Mario, played professional soccer in Italy. (credit:Getty)
Sara Paxton (03 of27)
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Sara Paxton is Scottish and Irish on her father's side, but her mother Lucia was born In Monterrey, Mexico. This year Paxton, who resides in L.A. turned 24 and got to spend her birthday in her mother's homeland. The star was in Mexico filming the coming of age movie "I Brake for Gringo". (credit:Getty)
Vanna White (04 of27)
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Vanna White, the television personality best known as the co-host of the 'Wheel of Fortune' television show, was born in North Carolina, but she certainly has some Latino blood in her! Vanna's last name is not actually White, it's the name she took from her stepfather Herbert Stackley White Jr. Her father, Miguel Angel Rosich, was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico but abandoned Vanna and her family when she was a child. (credit:Getty)
Andrew Keegan (05 of27)
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Frankie Muniz(06 of27)
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Actor Frankie Muniz, best known for his role In FOX's hit series "Malcolm In The Middle", was born in New Jersey to a Puerto Rican father and an Italian mother. Since his "Malcolm In The Middle" days (the show stopped airing in 2006) Muniz has stayed below the radar until last October when he popped the question to his longtime girlfriend Elycia Marie Turnbow. (credit:Getty)
Raquel Welch(07 of27)
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Actress Raquel Welch, stole all eyes when she appeared in a skin bikini in the 1966 British adventure film "One Million Years B.C." She became the ultimate sex symbol, but what a lot of people don't know is Welch, born in Chicago, has Spanish and Latino blood in her. Her mother is English and her father is of Spanish-Bolivian descent. In 2001 she was awarded the Imagen Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring those dedicated to encouraging and recognizing the positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry. (credit:Getty)
Ted Williams(08 of27)
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He may be a big legend of one America's staple pastimes, but baseball Hall of Fame honorary, Ted Williams, had some Latino blood in him. In fact, the Red Sox's left-fielder was of Mexican descent on his mother's side. But Williams kept his Mexican roots very private. "He never made a point of letting it be known," said Williams's nephew, who is also named Ted Williams to the NYTimes. "He didn't promote it. He was very friendly with our Mexican relatives on a private basis, but sometimes he shunned them in public because he didn't want it to be known. His mother led an Anglo life in San Diego." (credit:AP)
Linda Christian(09 of27)
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The Hollywood starlet of the 1940s and first Bond girl, Linda Christian, was Latina. Christian, who appeared alongside Barry Nelson in the 1954 TV adaptation of the James Bond novel Casino Royale, was born Blanca Rosa Welter in Tamico, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Her mother was also Mexican and her father Dutch. (credit:AP)
Bella Thorne (10 of27)
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Annabella Avery "Bella" Thorne, star of "Shake It Up!" and Global Ambassador for the Stomp Out Bullying Campaign still has a fear of public speaking after she was bullied at school. But the young Disney Star hasn't let that stop her acting career with some people even labeling her as the next Miley Cyrus. Disney's next big star, was born in Florida and currently lives in California, but her father Renato is originally from Cuba. (credit:Getty)
Q'orianka Kilcher(11 of27)
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Actress Q'orianka Kilcher, who's name means "Golden Eagle" in Quechua--a dialect spoken primarily in the Andes region of South America--is best known for her role as Pocahontas in the 2005 film "The New World". Aside from an interesting name, Q'orianka also has a very fascinating heritage. She was born in Germany, to a father of Quechua-Huachipaeri descent from Peru and a mother of Swiss descent, born in Alaska and raised in Switzerland. (credit:Getty)
Helena Christensen(12 of27)
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Former Victoria's Secret Angel and part of the 90s supermodel clan (alongside Cindy Crawford, Elle McPherson, Naomi Campbell and the like) Helena Christensen is a product of Danish and Peruvian blood. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, her father is Danish, and her mother is Peruvian. In 2009, she traveled to her mother's homeland where she captured in photographs the country's economical and environmental issues and displayed her prints in an exhibition titled "Portraits of Peru". (credit:AP)
Heather Hemmens(13 of27)
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Jordana Brewster(14 of27)
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Alexis Bledel (15 of27)
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Who would've thought that little Rory Gilmore is a Latina? But Alexis Bledel, who starred as Gilmore in the CW series "Gilmore Girls" has Latino genes coming from both sides of her family. Bledel, who was born in Houston, Texas, is daughter of a Mexican mother and an Argentinian father, according to her official bio on IMDB. Even though she pretended not to be fluent in Spanish in this Gilmore Girls' episode, Bledel's first language is in fact Spanish. (credit:Getty)
Kid Cudi(16 of27)
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Aubrey Plaza (17 of27)
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David Blaine (18 of27)
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Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi (19 of27)
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Although Snooki became famous by playing a Jersey Shore guidette, a term which usually refers to Italians, Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi is actually Latina. She was born in Chile but was adopted by Italian American parents, according to her bio on IMDB. (credit:Getty)
David Gallagher (20 of27)
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Odette Yustman(21 of27)
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Vanessa Marcil (22 of27)
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Louis C.K.(23 of27)
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Noomi Rapace (24 of27)
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Howie Dorough(25 of27)
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Victoria Justice(26 of27)
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Victoria Justice debuted as an actress at the age of 10 and has appeared in several Nickelodeon series including "Victorious" and "Zoey 101". Justice is of Puerto Rican descent on her mother's side and English, German, and Irish on her father's side. (credit:AP)
Bruno Mars(27 of27)
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Peter Gene Hernandez, better known as Bruno Mars, was raised in Honolulu, Hawaii in a family of musicians. But the Hawaiian native has more mixed blood than you think. His father is from Puerto Rico and his mother from the Philippines. Bruno Mars became the first Latino man and the 10th gent to grace the cover of Playboy back in March. (credit:AP)
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