A naked man reportedly took advantage of Planet Fitness’ transgender locker room policy by flashing his genitals around the women’s facility and being inappropriate with women.
Christopher Allan Miller, 38, was arrested Thursday for entering the women’s locker room at a Planet Fitness gym in Gastonia, North Carolina.
Miller claimed to be a woman in order to enter the women’s facility, but there is no indication that he identified as a transgender woman before the incident and his Planet Fitness membership lists him as a man. He also has a beard.
The gym’s policy allows members to use any bathroom and locker room that aligns with the gender they identify as part of the motto of no judgment.
The rule that has sparked a wave of backlash against the gym and led customers to threaten the establishment with boycotts and a $400 million loss in value after multiple incidents in which the transgender policy has been abused.
Christopher Allan Miller, 38, was arrested Thursday for entering the women’s locker room at a Planet Fitness gym in Gastonia, North Carolina.
Planet Fitness promotes its “judgment-free zone” to its members and uses the motto to support transgender clients who wear any wardrobe that aligns with their chosen gender.
Gym-goers are concerned about the policy and believe Miller abused it as a way to act inappropriately toward female clients. WSOC-TV reported.
The allegations claim that Miller stripped completely naked in the locker room and even asked a woman to rub lotion on him and they shower together.
A concerned woman who was shocked to see Miller completely naked in the locker room called 911 because she was very distraught.
“He’s a man, but he says he identifies as a woman and he won’t come out of the bathroom,” the 911 caller told the 911 operator. “But he’s just walking around showing us his and he won’t leave.”
The 911 operator asked “what are you wearing,” to which the nervous customer responded “Nothing.” Literally nothing.’
‘Ok, so he’s completely naked?’ said the responder. “He is completely naked,” the woman responded.
Miller was arrested on a felony charge of indecent exposure and booked into the Gaston County Jail with bail set at $25,000.
Planet Fitness customer Betty Brice is upset that Miller claimed to identify as a woman to stay in the women’s locker room.
“I think a woman should be able to go to the women’s bathroom without a man coming in saying he’s transgender,” Brice said.
Clark Simon, a transgender advocate, says the policy creates a sense of “safety and affirmation” for trans gym-goers.
She says it’s no excuse for someone who isn’t transgender to violate that space and that Planet Fitness needs to police that.
Planet Fitness has received a wave of complaints over its rules regarding the use of locker rooms and female restrooms by transgender people.
At least 28 Planet Fitness locations were subject to bomb threats after the gym franchise sparked fury for banning a customer who shared a photo of a Transgender woman shaving in the bathroom.
From Florida to Alabama, dozens of locations in eleven different states reported false bomb threats following weeks of backlash against the chain’s ‘trans-inclusive’ locker room policy and decision to ban the member, it was reported Media issues.
Patricia Silva, 67, made headlines in March after claiming to have seen a “man with a penis” washing himself in front of a 12-year-old girl in the women’s locker room.
Planet Fitness has received a wave of complaints over its rules regarding the use of locker rooms and female restrooms by transgender people.
Patricia Silva was banned from Planet Fitness after sharing a photo of ‘a man with a penis’ who was using the women’s locker room to shave.
Silva was banned from the gym in Alaska, and the gym franchise refused to reverse its decision despite its valuation plummeting by $400 million five days after the incident.
No bombs were found at any of the facilities, but the threats forced dozens of businesses to evacuate their buildings and prompted FBI agents to launch an investigation.
The first place hit by the series of incidents was Fairbanks, Alaska, where Silva often worked out and claimed to have seen “a man shaving in the women’s bathroom.”
Silva posted a video describing his gym experience on Facebook in early March, in addition to sharing a photo of the person online.
On March 13, Planet Fitness revoked Silva’s membership and filed a police report against him, citing his violation of gym policy by taking photographs and/or videos in the locker room.
Planet Fitness’s value plummeted $400 million in five days after Silva was banned when he shared a photo of a ‘trans woman’ wearing a female locker room.
The company’s value fell from $5.3 billion on March 14 to $4.9 billion on March 19, and its shares are down 13.59 percent compared to a month ago.