Celebrities including Greg James rally against joyless tech-led ‘optimisation culture’ after Steven Bartlett claimed fitness tracker showed two glasses of wine ‘ruined his life for three days’

Greg James has encouraged people to join his ‘anti-Bartlett cult’ after podcast host Steven Bartlett was mocked for saying two glasses of wine ‘ruined his life for three days’.

The BBC Radio 1 Breakfast presenter, 40, has hit out at the seedy tech-led ‘optimization movement’ promoted by the Dragon’s Den star and other influencers.

A viral clip circulated on Steven’s Diary Of A CEO podcast describing how a minimal amount of alcohol sabotaged the following three days.

Steven, who previously quit drinking after realizing what a significant impact it had on the data in his Whoop group, detailed how alcohol affected his sleep, diet, motivation to go to the gym and even his ability to podcast.

The comments were not well received by listeners as they were branded ‘ridiculous’ and said it was a ‘dramatic’ reaction to drinking a few glasses of wine.

In response to the video, Greg asked people to ‘turn off’ their fitness trackers and ‘go have a good time’. It’s a message supported by a host of other stars.

Speaking on social media platforms at the weekend, Greg said: ‘Can we talk about this Bartlett incident? This wine thing…’

He then plays the clip of Steven and says: ‘I had a few glasses of wine, I didn’t get drunk, it ruined three days of my life because of the domino effect it created.

‘That meant I slept worse that night, ate worse the next day because my dopamine system, or my cortisol system, or whatever it was, was disrupted. Then I released worse podcasts and didn’t go to the gym the next day and I could track all of that from my Whoop, my hashtag ad, my hashtag sponsor, my investor… whatever.’

Responding to Steven’s comment, Greg said: ‘So I’ve been opposing this for years. It’s not about alcohol, fair enough if you want to give up alcohol, it can ruin lives, I get it, that’s not my problem. My problem is the endless optimization and measurement of everything, to the point where it leaves you feeling a bit miserable if you don’t quite achieve your own goals.’

Greg then goes on to promote his book, which he describes as an antidote to the approach of measuring everything from calories to sleep scores.

He says: ‘So today it’s available for 99p (he points to his book Future Best). And it’s actually the anti-Bartlett. ‘You can have passions and goals, master a skill, be successful in your professional life and have a great time at the same time.’

He continued: ‘Not everything has to be business-like, you can work first and then quit. This is a reminder to go have a good time! Go see your friends, take a nice trip, call your mom. Just do something for yourself.

‘There is a section here called wasting the day, where I encourage you to do nothing for a day. Optimization kills the fun. We absolutely need to oppose this. That’s why the phones are off today. Go and have a good time! And don’t save it.’

A viral clip circulated on Steven’s Diary Of A CEO podcast explaining how a minimal amount of alcohol sabotaged the following three days

The video received a huge response from other stars who shared that they agreed with Greg about the ‘optimisation’ trend.

Julia Bradbury, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021, said that although she sometimes pursues her goals, life is about ‘progress, not perfection’.

He wrote: ‘I agree. As someone who has written books on the subject, in the end it’s not about perfection, it’s about progress and fun. I had cancer. I’m grateful for every day.

‘I keep track of the days when I want to achieve some goals and the rest of the time I follow my instincts. Interesting thought, wine affects him so much and alcohol is something I’ve given up. It reduces my risk of relapse and I’ve danced on a few tables in my time too.’

Fearne Cotton, who also showed her support, joked: ‘I actually podcast better when I’m hungover sometimes.’

The presenter has previously talked about his relationship with cutting down on alcohol; In 2016, he announced that he had not drank for two years.

He told the Mirror at the time: ‘I haven’t been drunk for about two years [and we don’t] Open bottles of Pinot Grigio at home. ‘There’s no alcohol in the house.’

But it seems Fearne is no longer completely alcohol-free and enjoys the occasional tipple.

Rapper Örnek also made his stance known by saying: ‘This is why I don’t wear those stupid watches. I don’t care. I don’t want to know. I’ll just live in the moment and get on with it’.

Beverley Turner said: ‘Absolutely. This is also the instinct to outsource technology. These people will become incompetent at listening to their bodies—not just whether your damn sleep rhythms are off—but also what is pain? What is disease? Just what is fatigue?

‘What is hunger? They stop listening to themselves. They make it easier to control themselves from the outside. This is disempowerment disguised as success. Quite the opposite’.

The video received a huge response from Greg’s fellow stars, who shared their agreement on the ‘optimization’ trend.

Comedian Donna Ashworth said: ‘I feel like this moment in time is about turning the simple act of living ‘well’ into a monumental task every day.

‘This is a bit too hard work. Try to be kind to everyone (and yourself), go out and eat nourishing foods whenever possible. People are messy and shouldn’t be in robot mode every day. ‘Sometimes embrace the unknown and mix it up.’

Other stars who showed support by sharing a series of positive emojis included drag queen Danny Beard, This Morning presenter Cat Deeley and cricket star Stuart Broad.

Match of the Day host Gabby Logan and Paul Mescal’s mother Dearbhla also vouched for Greg’s view.

Steven has previously promoted the positive health effects of ditching the occasional glass of wine or beer by tracking recovery scores and heart rate variability using the WHOOP fitness tracker.

It’s unclear whether the story he told on his podcast was recent or before he stopped drinking.

Over the years, Steven has used his platform to advocate for sobriety and share tips for breaking his drinking habit.

In a LinkedIn post last year he said: ‘Three changes to my health I didn’t expect to notice after quitting drinking.

‘I’ve never been a big drinker. I would occasionally have a glass of wine or beer with friends at dinner. I had no idea that even cutting out the occasional drink could have such a significant impact. This was all backed by data, all measured and tracked through my Whoop.

‘My heart rate variability was consistently near the 150ms mark, whereas previously it would drop to 40ms whenever I had anything to drink, even a single glass of wine. This was clear evidence of the impact alcohol had on my cardiovascular health.

‘I was sleeping better and my red recovery points decreased; this had become normal every day after drinking. According to WHOOP, the average member’s recovery score drops about 5% for every unit of alcohol consumed the previous day.

‘Following the increase in my sleep and recovery kept me on the path of abstinence, which I’m still on today.

‘Daily tension shifted and showed me how being sober actually reduces physiological stress in my body.

‘When I first quit drinking, I became obsessed with the data I received from my WHOOP because it showed me in real time how my body was responding to an alcohol-free lifestyle.

‘If you want to track the impact of alcohol on your body, check out the top comment of this post to find the link to sign up for WHOOP.’

The Daily Mail has reached out to Steven’s spokesperson for comment.