ARTICLE

 

ONJ’S BIZARRE DEAL – FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE!

Fans are in uproar over a money-grabbing move by the late singer’s estate

• Woman's Day (Australia)
• 24 Feb 2025

The late star’s social media is urging followers to use a motivational playlist to promote the weightloss giant.

It claims to be “preserving the legacy” of beloved Olivia Newton-john, but the late star’s Instagram has been accused of exploiting her name for profit, after it started promoting a bizarre partnership with Weight Watchers.

“Surprise! Our brand new campaign is here – and we’re thrilled to partner with the estate of the legendary Olivia Newton-john to unveil it,” her account announced in a post in December. “We hope you enjoy our twist on her classic hit Physical – and you can follow her page for Wwfriendly activations all month.”

Fans were quick to express their discomfort at the move.

“What is happening to Olivia’s legacy?” asked one. “So tacky and sad.”

“This is disgraceful and disgusting,” added another, who insisted “whoever is making these decisions” “should be ashamed”.

According to reports, it’s the late star’s agency, Primary Wave, who is now running the account, two years after the iconic singer’s death from cancer.

“This is all done with the estate and her label,

Primary Wave,” the agency told The Daily Telegraph.

At the time of going to print, the agency hadn’t responded to Woman’s Day’s request for comment.

CHLOE’S FURY

The late star’s rumoured $85.9 million estate is reportedly in the hands of her widower, John Easterling, 72, and won’t be passed down to the late star’s only child, daughter Chloe Lattanzi, until his death.

“There’s a big blame game going on because this has seriously backfired,” says an insider. “Chloe’s furious about it and quite rightly so. She was happy to let her mum’s music catalogue be caretaken, but not turned into a cash grab. The other thing that’s upset her is that she had requested to do a cover version of Physical for her next album and was turned down.”

According to the Hollywood insider, “All hell’s broken loose at CAA too, who were Olivia’s talent agents. They would never have approved this – Olivia never had any need to associate with Weight Watchers, and with Chloe’s eating disorder past, you couldn’t have come up with a bigger misfire. It’s quite disgraceful. Don’t expect this campaign to last long.”

‘This is disgraceful and disgusting…’

Chloe, who recently made the move from California to Florida with her husband James Driscoll, has been open about her battle with anorexia.

“I want people to see me for who I am, not an illness I overcame,” the 39-year-old – who Olivia shared with her former husband Matt Lattanzi – said in 2020.

TORN APART?

Chloe and her stepfather John comforted each other after Olivia’s death and shared a close relationship.

In 2023, they announced they were joining forces to launch Olivia’s Walk for Wellness in her honour and to raise funds for the Olivia Newton-john Cancer Wellness & Research Centre.

“There’s such a strong bond,” Chloe said of John in 2023. “He’s my other father.”

But the insider fears this scandal may have driven a wedge between the pair.

“Primary Wave is supposed to be in charge of her Instagram and it’s unlikely any of that team will have gone ahead without either Chloe or John’s approval. Chloe won’t be happy if John’s approved this.

THANKS TO KAY