A woman has shared a tearful account of her experience at the gym, telling social media users that she was fat-shamed simply because she was wearing a sports bra.
Shelby, who goes by @shelby.bellz on TikTok, said she was told to leave the gym as she opened up about the "embarrassing" encounter in a video.
In the clip, taken just after she was made to leave the establishment, a visibly upset Shelby can be seen wearing a sports bra and leggings, revealing only a small part of her midriff.
"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," she explained. "That you can’t be showing your belly."
Shelby went on: "She said, 'It’s fine for this time, but just so you know for next time'. I said, 'Ok that’s fine'. I went to do my workout. I’m 15 minutes in on the treadmill and the program coordinator came up to me and asked me to leave."
Sobbing, the content creator tells her followers: "I’m so embarrassed."
Shelby later made a follow-up video in response to a commenter who defended the gym's dress code.
Addressing the comment, the TikToker said: "There are two things that are problematic in how this went down and neither have anything to do with the dress code. 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. That already is not okay."
She then explained that she had been given permission to enter the gym only to be told she had to leave 15 minutes into her session.
Shelby said: "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.
"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 walking on the treadmill while I’ve got sweat pouring down my face."
Plenty of commenters have since stepped in to defend the TikToker following some of the negative responses her first video received:
What are your thoughts on the matter? Let us know in the comments.
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