Draft:Zack Polanski breast enlargement controversy

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Zack Polanski in 2022

In 2013, prior to entering politics, Zack Polanski, who has been the Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales since September 2025, practised hypnotherapy upon a journalist for The Sun for the purpose of enlarging her breasts in his role as a hypnotherapist.[1] Polanski has frequently been criticised over the incident, and has repeatedly apologised for it.[2]

Background

In 2013, Zack Polanski worked as a hypnotherapist on Harley Street in London.[3] LBC has reported that a typical 90-minute session allegedly cost £222.[4] A journalist for The Sun, Kasie Davies, requested his services in order to enlarge her breasts without the use of cosmetic surgery. An article documenting the experience was published in The Sun on 12 June 2013.[3] Six days after the article was published, Polanski went on BBC Radio Humberside, where he stood by the claim that hypnotherapy can be used to grow breasts,[5] saying that "actually, increasingly, more and more as [he works] with people, there’s starting to become anecdotal evidence, at least, of a growth in breast size" and that "at the moment [he's] not charging people for breast enhancement".[1] Referring to the specific interaction with Davies, Polanski said: “With her breast size, in The Sun article, she says that she grew four inches. It didn’t change her cup size, she stayed the same cup size, but she said it was a tighter fit.”[6] Polanski added: "I believe that it can happen in theory and I think it's definitely worth investing the time of evidence and research into hypnosis generally."[3] This interview re-emerged in March 2026, which generated renewed controversy; BBC News ran the headline "Polanski stood by breast enlargement hypnosis claim".[3] In May 2026, The Times alleged that Polanski was not a full member of the National Council of Hypnotherapy, despite claiming to be one.[7]

Zack Polanski first went into politics in 2015 as a member of the Liberal Democrats. He joined the Green Party in 2017,[8] and was elected the party's leader in 2025.[9]

Reactions

From Polanski

Polanski has repeatedly apologised for the episode.[2] He claims he spoke to the BBC the day after the article to apologise, though BBC News noted in 2026 that it could not find evidence of such an interview.[3] In December 2019, he said: "I think it’s important to say that I’ve apologised. If it was 2019, I would not have done that article and if I had, I would have been stronger to condemn it".[10] Speaking to The Guardian in May 2025, he said he was at the time "a young Londoner who was holding down four jobs", adding "I’ve apologised for it, and I stick by that apology."[6] In September 2025, he said: "I apologised because I recognise that can be offensive to people".[4] In March 2026, speaking to WalesOnline, Polanski said: "A [The] Sun journalist suggested this story, it was their story. It was 13 years ago, so I don’t know exactly when I apologised. I do know, though, that as recently as 2019, which was still seven years ago, I did another apology and I am happy to apologise whenever anyone wants to still talk about 13 years ago."[11]

In 2026, The Independent found a 2019 blog article on Medium by Polanski entitled "Politics was never part of the plan" in which he had said that he received “lots of emails” enquiring whether his methods could be applied to other body parts.[1][12]

From the political sphere

In 2019, two unnamed senior Green Party members in London said the article from The Sun was "embarrassing".[13] Soon after Polanski was elected the Leader of Green Party in 2025, Labour MPs Rosie Wrighting and Uma Kumaran, and Zia Yusuf of Reform UK, further criticised Polanski.[14][15] Responding to a comment by Keir Starmer during PMQs that referred to the incident, Polanski said "the Labour government is actually terrified of a rising Green party, they are terrified of a Green party ready to speak out authentically, and to hold them to account."[16] After the BBC Humberside interview re-emerged, a Labour Party source said: "Zack Polanski's ego might have got bigger, but nothing else has. It's now clear that his pretence to have been misrepresented over his breast enlargement hypnosis scam was absolute nonsense – he got called out years later, and he lied about it. You can't trust a word he says – he'll say whatever he thinks you want to hear."[3] Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch stated: "I think that the country would be in a very dangerous place, if they allowed a man who has been going around telling people that he knows how to grow women's breasts, in any kind of power."[3] Responding to the controversy, a Green party source said: "Zack has repeatedly apologised for an interview he did with The Sun more than a decade ago. Now, Zack is focused on the issues that really matter to people: bringing down bills, protecting the NHS and rebuilding our public services."[6] As of April 2026, Labour is testing messaging against the Green Party which includes lines about the controversy.[17]

From the general public

Polanski has been labelled as a misogynist by some critics, including Julie Bindel, owing to the incident.[18][19][20]

On 14 March 2026, while speaking to reporters following a campaigning event in Canton, Cardiff, Polanski was accosted by a member of the public.[11] Polanski walked off from the encounter after the man questioned him about the BBC interview in which he upheld the original claims concerning breast enlargement.[11]

References

  1. Stavrou, Athena (27 March 2026). "My breast-enlarging hypnotherapy claim prompted requests from men to make their penises bigger, says Polanski". The Independent. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  2. Walker, Peter (11 March 2026). "Zack Polanski repeated claim hypnosis can increase breast size, BBC interview reveals". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  3. Farley, Harry; Humphreys, Pete (12 March 2026). "Polanski stood by breast enlargement hypnosis claim". BBC. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  4. "Deputy Green Party Leader admits to performing hypnotherapy to 'enlarge' women's breasts in the past". LBC. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  5. Smith, Emily (17 March 2026). "Polanski's breast enlargement claim puts public off Greens". The Telegraph. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  6. Walker, Peter (11 March 2026). "Zack Polanski repeated claim hypnosis can increase breast size, BBC interview reveals". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  7. Elgot, Jessica. "Zack Polanski falsely claimed to be British Red Cross spokesperson, charity says". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  8. White, Lucy (28 February 2026). "Zack Polanski Is Making the Once-Fringe Greens a Political Force". Bloomberg. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  9. Wheeler, Brian (2 September 2025). "Zack Polanski elected leader of the Green Party". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2 September 2025. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  10. "Green Party candidate apologises again for misogynistic experiment". SW Londoner. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  11. "Man confronted Zack Polanski over hypnosis breast enlargement claim - and he walked away". WalesOnline. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
  12. "Why Zack Polanski had 'many requests' from men asking to make their penises larger". Inkl. 27 March 2026. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  13. Lo, Joe (19 March 2019). "Green candidate failed to disclose article claiming he could make breasts bigger". Left Foot Forward. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  14. Mitchell, Archie (3 September 2025). "Zack Polanski apologises over claim he can increase women's breast sizes with his mind". The Independent. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  15. Steerpike (10 October 2025). "Zack Polanski's humiliating breast hypnosis climbdown". The Spectator.
  16. Bill, Curtis (9 September 2025). "EXCLUSIVE: Zack Polanski hits back at Labour's breast enlargement attacks". The London Economic.
  17. Diver, Tony (6 April 2026). "Labour launches campaign against Zack Polanski to defeat Greens". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  18. Bindel, Julie (9 October 2025). "The Green Party's war on women: Magical thinking has replaced ecological clarity". UnHerd. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
  19. "The Greens want to fight sexism? They should look in the mirror". Spiked. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
  20. "The Green party's women problem". The Spectator. Retrieved 14 April 2026.