Planet Fitness staffer accompanied man in woman's locker room, ex-member says
A woman who lost her Planet Fitness membership after recording a video of a queer-identifying man shaving in the women's locker room claims she was told that a staffer has since accompanied the man while he used the women's facilities following the viral encounter.
Earlier this month, Patricia Silva shared video recapping her encounter with the man at an Alaska Planet Fitness after her membership was revoked. According to Silva, a 12-year-old girl in a towel was inside the locker room while the man was shaving.
After Silva told the man he should not be inside the women's locker room, the woman returned to the gym another day and learned that Planet Fitness revoked her membership for violating its policies by taking a photo of the man.
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Silva told The New York Post that her friend recently went to the gym and saw the man shaving his face in the women's locker room again. The former member said the friend told her that it appeared Planet Fitness assigned an employee to accompany the man inside the women's-only space.
"He is dressed as a man. His hair is cut short. It appeared that he was dressed, shaving his face and getting ready to leave for the day," Silva told The Post.
The woman's friend declined an interview with The Post out of a desire to remain anonymous.
Silva said her friend told the Planet Fitness employee that the man needed to leave the women's locker room, but the employee replied that she could go into the stall if she is uncomfortable.
Planet Fitness did not immediately respond to The Christian Post's request for comment.
In response to CP's inquiry last week, McCall Gosselin, Planet Fitness's chief corporate affairs officer, said the company is committed to creating an "inclusive environment."
"Our gender identity non-discrimination policy states that members and guests may use the gym facilities that best align with their sincere, self-reported gender identity. The member who posted on social media violated our mobile device policy that prohibits taking photos of individuals in the locker room, which resulted in their membership being terminated," Gosselin told CP.
In the original video shared by Libs of TikTok on March 11, Silva explained that she is not comfortable having a man in a space intended for women. On March 14, Silva posted a video update re-shared by Libs of TikTok, accusing the company of siding with the man over women.
"Planet Fitness is defending the man in the women's locker room — the man with the penis rather than the child sitting in the corner with the towel wrapped around her," Silva lamented. "So, people, I just want you to know this is weird. It's not good. It's rather disturbing."
"So, I would like for you women to stand up and have a voice and stop these shenanigans," she added. "You have authority! Use your authority."
Last week, the company's stock dropped amid the media attention resulting from the incident with Silva. However, the company's stock has gone through declines since January. At the beginning of the year, Planet Fitness' stock opened at $72.90, and the numbers have yet to reach that height again this year. The stock price sits at around $58 as of Monday afternoon.
The company's attempts to raise prices may also be hurting signups. Last month, Fortune reported a decline in growth in the gym industry. Planet Fitness has paused testing of higher prices and is bringing back its $10 per month promotion in some markets.
Fortune also reported that Planet Fitness did not experience an increase in traffic in January, which the outlet noted is usually one of the busiest months of the year for gyms in the United States. At the time of the report, Fortune reported that Planet Fitness was "on track for its second-worst quarterly sales growth since 2021."
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
