Gym owner Tom Tomlo is facing backlash for a video he took of female members exercising and posted on social media.
Gym owner Tom Tomlo is facing backlash for a video he took of female members exercising and posted on social media. Screenshot from Facebook
Gym owner Tom Tomlo is facing backlash for a video he took of female members exercising and posted on social media. Screenshot from Facebook

This gym owner posted a video of members working out – and women aren’t happy

January 16, 2018 12:56 PM

Tom Tomlo said he was just trying to have fun when he posted the video of women exercising at his gym. But some women aren’t amused.

A screenshot from the video taken at Blue Ridge Crossfit in Fletcher, North Carolina and posted Friday on Instagram zeroes in on the women’s behinds as they’re bending over in black stretch pants. The word “dayum” is written on one of the photos; “#humpday” is written on another. The other photo has “#blueridgegirls” written on it with a smiley face emoji.

The woman who posted the screenshot said on Facebook that the video was posted without the women’s permission.

Several women have taken to Facebook, Yelp and Google to express their outrage at what they say was inappropriate behavior.

“The owner should have charges pressed against him,” a female Yelp user wrote on Monday. “Women, know that he takes pictures without permission or consent of women’s a***s, posts the pictures on social media, then defended his actions in a putrid way. I hope he ends up in jail.”

On Google, a person wrote that a person should read the reviews of the gym and decide if it’s “a place I want my wife, daughter, or sister to go.”

Others on Facebook posted a screenshot Monday of a post identified as being written by Tomlo, in which he appears to address the backlash to the video. “It has been brought to my attention that some people chose to get butt hurt today,” the post says, which is rife with expletives. The post said Tomlo won’t tolerate what he called “delusional and ignorant drama.”

Many on the platform were aghast at Tomlo’s reported reaction. Now he’s apologizing.

Tomlo told WLOS that he didn’t mean to offend anyone when he posted the video. He added that the women knew he was taking a video of them when he was recording.

“I can’t control the way this is being portrayed, and I’m regretful for it,” Tomlo told the news station. “I feel horrible that people would feel that I would look at a woman that way and do something that would be purposefully demeaning of her.”