A woman has been left humiliated by pool staff in New Zealand after reportedly being asked to leave a swimming pool over her choice of swimwear.
Yvette Harvie-Salter, a 26-year-old singer, presenter and actress, had been going to the pool in Auckland three times a week for several years, but says she will never return after being kicked out for wearing a bikini to the pool.
Posting to her Facebook page after the fact, Harvie-Salter explained that she got kicked out in the "rudest, most unprofessional way".
"So, I just got kicked out of Albany Stadium Pool in the rudest, most unprofessional way. A woman who is supposedly the duty manager today pulled me out of the spa whilst I was happily going about my day and told me that she needed to have a conversation with me in private. Apparently, the bikini I was wearing and have been wearing at the same pool for the past few months is not appropriate."
Explaining that she got her swimwear from a local shop called Glassons - much like the one pictured above (and that the bikini was like any other bikini at the store), Harvie-Salter then added that the member of staff had told her that some of the mothers at the pool had been complaining about her use of swimwear.
"Her exact words were that it's not a 'rule' but a few of the mums have complained about it so I have to wear something more conservative. She asked me if I have any other bikinis at home and I do but they're all the same! I bought this bikini from Glassons.com literally just across the road from the pool, and it's 2019!!! All the bikinis in the store look like this!"
Speaking about the iniquities from children she lets slide on a daily basis, she said that when she asked for her money back following her embarrassing ejection from the pool, she was laughed at.
"Almost every day I'm there, a child shits in the pool and it gets closed, I find that offensive. The same mothers ignore or scream at their children, I find that offensive. When I tried to address management to get my money back, they all literally laughed about it, I find THAT offensive."
"I have been going to this pool up to three times a week for the past couple of years and they've just lost a valued customer," finished Harvie-Salter, underlining that she'd never return to the pool. Meanwhile, Auckland Council head of active recreation Rob McGee said that there were no restrictions on what could be worn at the pool - for example, there were no restrictions on whether or not a man could wear a Speedo.
"Generally we are relaxed about swimwear and want customers to feel comfortable at our pools," McGee explained, adding that he and his team were deeply sorry for how Harvie-Salter was treated.
"We made the wrong judgement call and we'll be working with our staff to ensure this doesn't happen again," McGee said.
