Church leader follows girl into bathroom to tell her she’s too fat to wear jean shorts in disturbing video
A church leader who followed a girl into the bathroom to tell her she was “too fat” to wear jean shorts and sing in front of the pews is being slammed online.
The disturbing incident was recorded and uploaded by Twitter user Jenna, who wrote: “This woman followed me into the bathroom and attacked me calling me fat and that I couldn’t wear jean shorts because I was too fat.”
The clip started with the woman, who wore a name tag saying “Bonnie,” saying: “She’s a chubby girl. She’s got a dress on. That’s appropriate. It comes to the top of her knees.” It appears the woman is talking about another churchgoer.
“So you’re sitting here calling me fat?” Jenna asked her off camera, her voice thick with tears.
The woman put her hands on her hips and asked her: “Oh. You don’t think you are?”
“No,” Jenna responded. “Because I f***ing love who I am. Get the f*** out of my face.”
“I don’t have to,” the woman said, before pointing a finger at her. “And don’t swear at me like that again,” before going on to demand, “Don’t come back on that stage with those shorts. I’m warning you.”
Jenna asked said: “Who are you? Who are you to tell me what I’m supposed to do? No. Get the f*** out of my face. Get out. I am 19 years old and I can do whatever I want.”
“Really?” The woman responded. “Try it.” She walked away, with Jenna telling her that she “recorded the whole thing” and intends to tell her parents.
“I will never come back to this church because of how much you are disrespectful. You are so disrespectful.”
Jenna went on to show what she was wearing that day.
The shocking video has been viewed more than one million times since it was uploaded on 30 June, and Jenna followed up with a statement about what happened.
She said the woman “followed” her into the bathroom and told her “fat girls don’t wear shorts”.
The woman “is a leader” in the church, who “actually speaks on behalf of our church at different conferences”.
She added:
My pastor said that she will never be able to be on any sort of committee/any leadership role in our church ever again.
I’m absolutely astonished that someone can have this much hate in their heart.
I’m honestly shocked and upset that this happened at church…I should feel accepted and loved and now I don’t want to go back to that church…
I love singing in the contemporary band with my friends and being up onstage and praising God with other people.
People online sent an outpouring of support to Jenna.
And condemned the woman for fat-shaming her.
Body positivity advocate Jameela Jamil called the woman an “a***hole”.
By Narjas Zatat
