Fashion
I was fat-shamed at the gym and told to leave because my crop top showed off my belly – I’ve never been so ashamed
A WOMAN has broken down in tears after being fat-shamed at the gym and told to leave because the crop top she was wearing exposed her belly.
Emotional Shelby took to TikTok to detail the incident which left her feeling ashamed and upset.
TikTok user Shelby was devastated after being kicked out of the gym for wearing a crop top[/caption]
The woman, who was wearing a pair of black leggings and matching sports bra, claimed she was forced to leave because of her size after being told her outfit didn’t meet the gym’s dress code.
But after being told by the gym’s receptionist, “you can’t show your belly,” she was allowed in to do her workout, only to be approached 15 minutes later and told to leave.
Shelby, said she was “so embarrassed” by the incident, claiming she was “fat-shamed” for flashing an inch of her stomach.
She filmed the video after leaving the gym before sharing it online.
She claims she was ‘fat-shamed’ for showing her belly while attempting to work out[/caption]
She said: “I just went to the gym and the lady at the front desk said that they have a policy, you’re not allowed to wear sports bras to the gym, that you can’t be showing your belly.
“She said, ‘It’s fine for this time, but just so you know for next time.’”
Shelby then flashed the outfit she was wearing “for reference”, which exposed only a sliver of stomach between her long sports bra and her high-waisted leggings.
“I’m 15 minutes in on the treadmill and the program co-ordinator came up to me and asked me to leave,” she continues, breaking into tears.
Shelby was told it was ‘ok this time’ but 15 minutes later was told to leave[/caption]
She was wearing black high wasited leggings and a crop top which exposed an inch of her stomach[/caption]
“I’m so embarrassed.”
After watching her videos, some argued it’s normal for gyms to have a dress code – forcing Shelby to share a series of follow up videos to justify her feelings.
She continued to explain why she feels she was “fat-shamed” and why the incident was “problematic”.
“There’s two things that are problematic in how this went down and neither have anything to do with the dress code,” the 26-year-old said.
“The dress code is what it is, I can’t change that, whatever.
“But number one is how the lady at the front desk spoke to me. I said, ‘Oh we’re not allowed to wear a sports bra?’ And she said, ‘Well we can’t just have our bellies hanging out,’ in a belittling tone.
Shelby was left feeling ashamed and dubbed the incident ‘problematic’[/caption]
“That already is not OK.”
Shelby then went on to argue that she was told it was OK to go into the gym, only to be booted out 16 minutes later.
“Problem two is that she told me it was OK, that it was OK for this time but for next time to wear something else,” she said.
“So I went into the gym with my wrist band on that she gave me … then to have somebody come up to me, after I’d already been there 15 minutes, sweat pouring down my face.”
Many viewers of the TikTok video understood why Shelby was “hurt” by the incident and agreed that it was “not OK”.
People jumped to Shelby’s defence saying her feelings are ‘valid’[/caption]
“Oh honey do not be embarrassed, they should be embarrassed,” one woman wrote.
“I hear you. You’re valid. I am so sorry soul sister, this was wrong,” another assured her.
“Time for a new gym,” someone else stated.
Shelby later addressed the people who claimed she had “blown it out of proportion” in a third video, telling them it takes some people “so much courage” to go to the gym.
“That was only my third visit to the gym and to have that interaction go down when you have barely even been there a week is very demeaning and all over, not an experience anyone would want to go through,” she said.
She also said she believes a smaller woman would not have been told to leave which was why she described the incident as “fat-shaming”.
“I genuinely believe that if that was a smaller woman standing there at the counter that they would not have said that to her.”
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