I have never made any statement that I do not want my involvement with this whole debacle to not be discussed. Of course I do not want lies spread about me but for anyone to believe they cannot even mention my name is just stupid. To go along with someone's "rule" that my name cannot be mentioned is juvenile.
In 2016 I deleted or inactivated all my personal social media accounts. I also deleted the Cognitive Dissonance Facebook group. I did it because I am tired of all the people who post about me as if they think they are posting facts. No, I wasn't harassed after Dr Phil and no my mother was not harassed either. No one has filed legal action against me. I do not post under fake accounts. "DagnyK" on the GOMI site is not me; I have not posted there in many months. I do not have any websites about cycling. I do not make fat shaming posts. I'm not on Medicaid or disability and I'm a decade too young for Medicare. I am not ghostwriting Eric's book. I do not have any kind of arrangement with Eric or his alleged "producer." I did not "stalk" him when he happened to be in my hometown while I was visiting for my mother's birthday. I spent the time with my parents and did nothing that I don't always do when I am at home. Given the incredibly coincidental timing, I did ask the members of the CD group to alert me if Eric posted his location as I did not monitor his Facebook page. As it turned out, he never posted anything and I did not "physically track" him. I don't even know how I would have done that. Besides, I was there to spend time with my mother who was turning 78.
I was contacted by the Dr Phil show; I had nothing to do with arranging the appearance for myself or the Hites. I was never told how the show became aware of Eric and the controversy surrounding him. It's my understanding that Eric himself told the show producers who I was. I agreed to appear on the show because I was offered a four-day trip to LA and it seemed that without the information amassed by the CD group, they wouldn't really have a show. I agreed to organize the compiled information which consisted primarily of screen shots from the Hites' various Facebook pages. The producers did not want to do a "family intervention." They wanted to focus on whether the "haters" were accurately calling Eric out. The producers asked to be added to my personal Facebook account and to the CD group. Besides the time on the show and a couple hours answering questions in front of a camera (which was really fun), my time in LA was free to go sightseeing and see friends. I was put up in a really fabulous hotel off Hollywood Boulevard which was great. I do not know where the Hites were put up but I was told it was NOT at my hotel. I was given a generous per diem for food at the hotel. I was not compensated in any other way for appearing. Being on a national TV show was a once-in-a-lifetime experience I do not regret though ultimately I was not pleased with my performance on the show. Not only was everything extemporaneous and unexpected but I was freezing cold and physically very uncomfortable in the clothes, shoes, makeup, helmet hair, and audio wiring they put me in. I was particularly uncomfortable that I could not put my feet down and they dangled off the chair. I trembled from the cold throughout the show. I did leave my dressing room when I was not supposed to and ran into Eric and Angie after the show. Angie did threaten to beat me up but went to go smoke instead. Prior to flying out to LA, I was not asked to send photos of my teeth though I was asked to describe their condition. I was asked about tattoos or if I had any kind of physical irregularity. When I was being made up for the show, the makeup artist told me that people who have bad teeth are given temporary veneers that are intended to last only until a person eats for the first time after the show.
I have never been "obsessed" with Eric. Disgusted by him, yes. Oddly fascinated by the insanity of it all, yes. I started the Cognitive Dissonance on a Bike Facebook group after reading about Eric being stranded in Tiverton, Rhode Island. I was so stunned by his seemingly willful—and potentially life-threatening—ignorance that I wanted to chat about it with anyone else who may have picked up on the bizarre story. The group simply took off. It was always a private group and inaccessible by the public. I became inextricably associated with the reputation it developed, fueled mostly by the Hites' manipulation of their followers with claims of victimization and hater harassment. A vertible body of folklore has developed around me. People claim to remember incidents that never happened. Several false stories originated from opinions and comments posted in discussion threads and then repeated as if they were facts. People became so involved with the group that some I banned have held grudges against me ever since, generally spreading lies and behaving like teen-age mean girls. There were only about 30-some people total who were ever banned. I banned Paul Nolan for posting that the group was about fat shaming. He sent me harassing emails for several months. He has since invented a story making himself out to be a victim. I did not reveal Nolan's name until someone else claimed I'd accused him of sending me the series of emails. I always knew the emails came from Nolan. I do believe there is a particular person who has incited others to send me harassing messages on Facebook. I was sent thousands. At this time, I continue to receive emails from people with a need to attempt to insult me. I left the CD group myself several months ago but since I would always have been associated with it, I ultimately decided to get rid of it.
This page is intended to provide the truth and dispel the lies spread by the Hites and those former members of the CD group who've never gotten over having been booted from a Facebook group.
As for my book... I self-published in 2012 after maintaining a significant weight loss for seven years. I did all the production and promoted it myself. It was professionally edited. It sold well enough to provide me with an income for over two years. I stopped actively promoting it around mid-2014 but it continues to sell every month. Sales have spiked this year thanks to the Hites' frequent mentions of me. It is neither a weight loss memoir nor a "how to." It does not include a "weight loss plan." I have never bragged about my weight loss; rather my book includes a section warning against becoming overzealous after losing weight. I have since consulted on several self-publishing projects.
My Book & Former Blog
