Brian Johnson, AKA ‘Liver King’, has been a pretty major YouTube sensation in recent years.
Adhering to a so-called ‘ancestral’ diet and lifestyle regimen, Liver King eats huge quantities of raw red meat, bull testicles, and daily liver along with undertaking a brutal exercise regimen and forswearing modern creature comforts wherever possible.
However, after years of maintaining that he was entirely clean, Johnson admitted to using steroids to bolster his physique following a 2022 email leak.
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Despite the revelation that his body has been enhanced by $11,000 (£8,200) a month’s worth of steroids, including synthetic IGF1 and testosterone, he maintains a YouTube following of 1.21m subscribers and continues to live out his ‘ancestral’ lifestyle.
His two sons, Rad and Stryker, and Polish-born wife Barbara also adhere to the diet and lifestyle choices, as shown by Netflix’s new documentary Untold: The Liver King.
The documentary follows the family’s routine whilst covering Johnson’s rise to fame, his fall from grace, and his ongoing commitment to the lifestyle that made him a star.
It makes for grim viewing, with several scenes depicting testicle eating among the most gruesome.
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The doc also comes with a warning of ‘animal killing’, and so it proves: the doc shows a man shoot a young bull at range, with Johnson and his family rushing over to finish the job. Johnson kills the bull with a ‘Liver Taker’ that will supposedly be on sale soon, and then the family begins butchering it where it lies.
Naturally, the testicles are the first bit to come off, with the family taking bites of the still-warm gonads after Johnson pays a prayer-like thank you to the bull.
The family eats bull testicles three times a day in a bid to boost their testosterone levels, although there is so little testosterone in them that it’s unlikely to make any difference.
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The scene has drawn plenty of shock and consternation online since the doc dropped on May 13th 2025, with one X user saying: “I knew The LiverK was delusional...who makes their family eat raw meat? Why 50 raw eggs? Why butcher that bull? Sick.”
The same user followed up with: “Liver King could be a cult leader...in his circle with the bull...get some therapy dude.”
“I can't believe THIS level of a show is playing on @netflix #theliverking poor cow...tf,” said another.
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Liver King has faced more general criticism since the revelations around his steroid use, with the documentary firing social media up over it once more.
“Man, I feel like a pretty solid understanding of macros saved me from buying into his crap,” said one Reddit user. “He's like this generation's Lance Armstrong.”
“His bubble gut was a sure sign of HGH,” posited another, referring to human growth hormone.
“Whatever sells and makes money. It’s a influencers job unfortunately. He will be ok though. But he is a dope head,” said a third Redditor.
Topics: Celebrity, Social Media, TV and Film, YouTube, Health, Diet
Rachael Davis