A TikToker has gone viral after sharing a video showing how a party bus service practices discrimination against plus-size people.
Fallon Melillo, 27, was on vacation in Miami with friends when they decided to use a party bus to get a club. However, Fallon discovered the party bus service had a size-based disclaimer on their event page.
Melillo’s friends had not heard anything about the size policy when booking the bus. They also hadn’t had any issues with getting into clubs. Melillo explained in the video that she and her friend were going to a pool party at Daer, which is a club hosted by the Hard Rock Hotel. One of the transportation options was the Spring Break Miami Party Service Bus.
When Melillo and her friends got to the bus, Melillo was turned away for not fitting the “beauty standards” that you apparently need to ride a bus.
The group was given a refund, but Melillo was humiliated and emphasized how cruel the policy was:
“I am plus size. I am confident. But this moment I felt embarrassed being denied access and turned away at the door to get on a bus due to my size,” she wrote on Instagram.
In one follow-up video, Melillo shared that Spring Break Miami Party Service Bus still hadn’t contacted her to apologize.
They had, however, changed the wording on their webpage to be rather evasive: “As much as we would like to welcome everyone, admission to this exclusive event is very selective and we reserve the right [to] deny service,” reads the disclaimer.
“What that really means is that if you’re a bigger girl, they reserve the right to deny you,” Melillo explained. “So instead of blatantly showing their discrimination online, you have to go in person to be embarrassed and be denied at the door because you’re bigger and plus-size.”
Later, Melillo updated again, saying she had finally received an apology from someone who claimed to help run the party bus: “Our ad included inappropriate language and it was rude to single out plus size women. We removed all of that. We are human and make mistakes.”
Let’s hope the party bus service and other businesses that practice size discrimination finally get the message that it’s not okay to fat-shame or make life difficult for people of size.
Lead image: TikTok