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'Sick to my stomach with guilt': Fitness influencer apologises for calling out 'creep' at the gym

By Jo Abi|

Fitness influencer Jessica Fernandez has ?apologised for labelling a fellow gym-goer a "creep" in a recent video.

In the video shared on TikTok ?on January 19, Fernandez films herself lifting weights, stopping to speak discretely into a microphone.

She focuses on the male gym-goer behind her, alleging he is a "weirdo" and a "creep" and she is sick of being treated like a "piece of meat" at the gum.

The man is behind her, working though his own set. He occasionally glances her way before offering to help her place a free weight on the bar she is using. She politely declines before claiming his offer of assistance is his attempt to further harrass her.

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Fitness influencer Jessica Fernandez
The fitness influencer alleged she was being harassed by a man at the gym in a recent video. (TikTok)

Her video quickly went viral, but not for the reasons she intended. Instead, Fernandez was called out for falsely accusing the man of harassment.

After almost a week of widespread criticism, Fernandez has released a long statement on TwitLonger via Twitter, apologising over the incident.

"First of all, I want to apologise sincerely to the man at the gym where this all started. He didn't do anything wrong to me and I blew our interaction out of proportion," Fernandez began.

"I know many people think that I'm only apologising because I got called out from the video I posted and this is half right."

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Fernandez reveals in her apology that she has been a victim of sexual assault and sexual harassment and that both ordeals have left her "extremely" damaged.

The influencer also concedes that if she had not been called out, she wouldn't have had a chance to learn from her mistake.

"After reading literally thousands of comments about me, the situation and the man in question, it truly opened my eyes to how damaging this could have been for him," Fernandez wrote.

Fitness influencer Jessica Fernandez
Fernandez has apologised over the accusation. (TikTok)

"Men and women deal with very different problems in the realm of the opposite sex and after looking through the lens of an innocent man put in a situation like that.

"It honestly made me feel sick to my stomach with guilt."

She speaks of the importance of calling people "out on their mistakes", and references fellow fitness influencer Joey Swoll, who compelled her to "do better."?

Swoll was quick to post his own video calling out Fernandez's harassment post, explaining the man in the background was glancing her way because she was in his line of sight and talking into a microphone, and that his offer of assistance ?was standard practice in weight-lifting circles for both men and women.

Fitness influencer Jessica Fernandez
Fernandez was slammed over the post. (TikTok)

"Women are harassed in gyms and it needs to stop, but you are not one of them. An act of kindness or a glance does not make you a victim," the caption of Swoll's response video reads.

In his video, he said: "So why did this man look at you? Well, you're in front of him, off to the side. You're in his peripheral. You're also taking a video with your camera pointed directly at him, and you're talking to yourself.

"He's probably watching you wondering, 'What is she doing?' Know I would."

Fitness influencer Jessica Fernandez
Fellow influencer Joey Swoll called Fernandez out of her claims. (Twitter)

Fellow influencer Diego accepted her apology, tweeting in response: "Good on you to admit it was an overreaction. I think your video was important because even though that specific instance didn't show any harassment, it showed how sometimes regular gestures can be taken that way because of how commonplace harassment is in a woman's world."

Another person pointed out this wasn't Fernandez's first attempt to apologise for the situation, sharing a screenshot of original post, which has since been deleted, along with the offending video.

In it she refused to apologise for how she "felt in the situation" and claimed there was more to the story.

Jessica Fernandez first apology over video
Her original apology and video have since been deleted. (Twitter)

"There was an issue prior to this part of the recording that lead to me taping the 2nd part of my workout for my own safety and due to past experiences I've had."?

Fernandez did not expand on this claim in her second apology.

"I didn't read the 2nd apology but I'm hoping it apologizes for the 1st apology," feminist influencer Denna commented.?

"You made a mistake, then posted that mistake. You might have greatly affected his life because you made him infamous. I'd say if you were really sorry, you should do everything you can to reach out to that young man and make amends for any and all inconveniences you caused," another said.?

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