When the life coach Tony Robbins suggested last month that women were using the #MeToo movement “to try to get significance and certainty by attacking and destroying someone else,” his remarks did not get much attention outside the California arena where he made them.

Then, on Friday, the social video news organization NowThis posted a clip on Twitter of Mr. Robbins’s response to an audience member who had challenged him and accused him of not understanding the movement. The video was shared thousands of times, including by Tarana Burke, the #MeToo founder, who joined a chorus of people criticizing Mr. Robbins for his comments.

“We have a hard enough time trying to shift the narrative about what this movement really is and he stands in front of thousands of his followers and completely misrepresents the @MeTooMVMT,” Ms. Burke wrote.