Gold's Gym Franchise Faces Backlash For Controversial Ads

A Gold's Gym franchise in Egypt placed questionable ads on their Facebook page, and it's getting international attention.

Commenters are leaving messages on the Facebook page of Gold's Gym Dreamland for its bodyshaming ads. One ad in particular, which features a pear and the tagline "This is No Shape for a Girl," is stirring up strong reactions from the public. Many are taking to the Gold's Gym corporate Facebook page and posing a single pear in the comments as a protest to Gold's Gym corporate office remaining silent on its licensee's advertising.

Yesterday, Gold's Gym Dreamland posted an apology on its Facebook wall: "[T]his post was not meant to offend anyone, and not against god's creation, or any type of women's body, it was meant to refer to a Healthy Fit body and cutting fats, NOT THE ACTUAL STRUCTURE OF THE BODY. So Again our Apology. for all the women out there." People from all over the world are leaving bad reviews on Dreamland's FB page for what most consider a lukewarm apology.

Bodyshaming culture at the gym is in the news lately. Last month, former Playboy Playmate of the Year Dani Mathers was under fire for sending a Snapchat from the gym secretly body shaming another member. It led to Mathers losing her job, getting banned from L.A. Fitness (the gym where the Snapchat was taken), and a criminal investigation due to public outrage when the post went viral. Today, members of various New York City gyms spoke to The New York Post about getting body shamed in class by their personal trainer. (Disclosure: Strutter once worked out in a series of classes with Christine Yi, one of the women profiled in the Post story. Yi is inspiring, and a force to be reckoned with.)