Images of a woman with three breasts are made their rounds on social media over the past week. Today we take a closer look at this woman and her story.
It’s a hoax.
Jasmine Tridevil
A woman using the name Jasmine Tridevil claimed to have had a third breast surgically implanted “to make myself unattractive to men” and to achieve fame and fortune. She did not originally revealed her true identity, but claimed to be a 21-year old licensed massage therapist from Tampa, Florida.
The woman’s Facebook page (since removed) was created on August 11, 2014 while her first Youtube video was posted on August 10, 2014 and her first tweet was on August 13 and her first Instagram post was on August 14.
Below is the woman’s first YouTube video, entitled “3 Breasted Woman,” posted on August 10, 2014. That video, as of this writing has nearly 300,000 views and over twice as many dislikes as likes.
When asked why she undertook such a bizarre procedure, she cited two reasons in an interview with The News Junkie: She wanted to be a reality star on MTV, and to make herself unattractive to men. She said she hired a camera crew to begin following her around in anticipation of a reality series.
Regarding the question of finding a doctor who would actually perform such a procedure, Tridevil said it was a difficult task, and that she consulted over 50 doctors before finding one who would do it. That doctor, she said, required that she sign a non-disclosure agreement, preventing her from revealing the doctor’s identity. The procedure is said to have cost $20,000.
In response to other questions, Tridevil has said that her parents were not happy about the procedure, and that she made the three-breasted tops featured in the photos herself.
Radio Interview
You can listen to her interview with The News Junkie, posted September 16, 2014.
Criticisms
Skeptical readers immediately suggested that the story was a hoax. The third breast, it was been suggested, could be a prosthetic chest piece, similar to that worn by Kaitlyn Leeb for the movie Total Recall. This initial suspicion turned out to be correct.
It was also pointed out that there was little corroboration of the woman’s story outside of her own social media accounts, all of which were created in August 2014.
Another point of contention was the amount of money spent by a young massage therapist. When questioned about the money spent on the surgery and camera crew, she said that she saved her money for two years.
NY Mag’s Jessica Roy covered the story, but said she felt “the photos look kinda ‘shopped” and noted the Total Recall similarities.
BuzzFeed interviewed a plastic surgeon, who stated it appeared to be a case of body dysmorphia disorder, and that “she will now be scarred for life.” He also referred to the actions of the surgeon who performed the procedure as “unethical and they have acted in a way where no reasonable plastic surgeon would.”
The Hoax Unravels
In light of the attention focused on the story, some internet users pointed out a resemblance to the woman in the photos with a massage therapist named Alisha Hessler of Alisha’s Golden Touch. That website described the company as “Provider of internet hoaxes since 2014” and “specialist in massage for three breasted woman.”
The domain listed on Jasmine Tridevil’s social media pages, jasminetridevil.com, is also registered to Alisha Hessler.
Additionally, a plastic surgeon spoke with the Daily Dot and doubted the story. Dr. Matthew Schulman, a New York board-certified plastic surgeon referred to the story as a “hoax” and “essentially not possible.” He asserted that the surgery described by the young woman would “not give the results” shown in the ubiquitous photos.
TMZ Report
A September 23, 2014 TMZ report claimed that the woman recently had a bag stolen at Tampa International Airport. When it was retrieved, its contents were inventoried, and one of the items was described as a “3 breast prosthesis.”
Huzlers Death Hoax
Days after the story exploded, fake news website Huzlers posted a phony story that Jasmine Tridevil was found dead by Tampa police. Huzlers posts fictional, outlandish stories in the name of satire and has been responsible for a string of hoax stories over the past year. That report is completely false.
Bottom Line
The story of Jasmine Tridevil, the alleged three-breasted woman was a hoax. Based on the description on the woman’s massage therapist page, which links “Jasmine Tridevil” with Alisha Hessler, along with the analysis by Dr. Schulman and the TMZ report, the woman’s hoax was eventually debunked. The report that Jasmine Tridevil was found dead is a also a fake story by a “satire” website.
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