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Richard Simmons Podcast Allegations Slammed by His Rep as ‘Load of Crap’

Richard Simmons’ rep is again denying that the fitness guru is being held hostage by his housekeeper. The accusation was made during episode three of Dan Taberski’s new podcast Missing Richard Simmons.         

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During the popular podcast, Simmons’ longtime friend and former masseuse Mauro Oliveira claimed that the workout mogul, 68, is being held by his housekeeper, Teresa Reveles.

“It was 6 p.m., and I went into his house. He was sitting in the living room, and he was very weakly, physically and mentally. He was trembling. He said, ‘Mauro. I called you here because we cannot see each other anymore. I’m just going to stay here,’” Oliveira recalled of the last time he saw Simmons in May 2014. “I thought of the worst. I thought the worst was going to happen. I thought he was suicidal.” 

Oliveira claimed that he then tried to talk privately with Simmons but that Reveles interfered. “She realized that I was in the house, she started screaming like a witch, ‘No, no, no, no, get out, get out! I don’t want him here!’ Richard looked at me and said, ‘You got to go.’ I said, ‘Really? Is she controlling your life now?’ and he said, ‘Yes.’ And that I have to leave.”

Simmons’ rep, Tom Estey, denies the allegations and tells Us Weekly that it’s a “complete load of crap.”

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“Theresa has been working with him for 27 years. So, holding him hostage is the biggest, I mean … Theresa is the housekeeper, she’s the caretaker, she is extraordinary, she is amazing, she takes impeccable care of Richard and she has for as long as I have been working with Richard, so that is a complete load of crap,” Estey added to Us, maintaining again that Simmons’ has simply made a choice to “live a more private life.”

As previously reported, the former fitness personality hasn’t been seen out in public since February 2014. Simmons previously denied the accusations that he’s being held by Reveles and also the rumor that he’s been privately transitioning from male to female.

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“Some tabloids have recently falsely reported that I am transitioning.” Simmons wrote in a June 2016 statement. “In response, I feel compelled to set the record straight and refute these lies. Although I am not transitioning, I have and always will be supportive of those who are going through their journey.”

Simmons also recently closed his famous workout studio after 42 years.

“I am finally taking my own advice. I am being kind to myself, and putting myself first,” he wrote in a statement on Facebook this past November. “I am making changes and taking time to do the things I want to do. Please know that I am in good health and I am happy. No one has ever been able to tell me what to do and the same is true today. I am still independent, determined and opinionated. I simply am making a new beginning for myself — quietly and in my very own special way.”

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