A Planet Fitness member who was banned for complaining about a transgender female in the women’s locker rooms in 2015 said she ‘knew this was going to happen again’ as she saw the latest controversy embroiling the gym.
Yvette Cormier, a Michigan woman who had her membership with Planet Fitness cancelled nine years ago, told DailyMail.com on Thursday that she saw a lot of paralells between her case and that of Patricia Silva.
Silva, 67, made headlines last week when she expressed outrage that a ‘man with a penis’ was carrying out their ablutions in front of her and a young girl wrapped in a towel. She confronted the individual, took a photo and alerted staff.
‘My first reaction was that I knew this was going to happen again,’ Cormier said.
She offered her support to Silva and joined conservative calls for a boycott, as she did in 2015 when she complained about seeing a transgender woman in the women’s locker room in Midland.
Yvette Cormier (pictured), a Michigan woman who had her own membership with Planet Fitness cancelled for similar reasons back in 2015, told DailyMail.com on Thursday that she already ‘knew this was going to happen again’
Patricia Silva was banned from Planet Fitness after she shared a photo of ‘a man with a penis’ who was using the female locker room to shave
Cormier sued Planet Fitness for invasion of privacy, sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract and emotional distress.
Silva lost but an appeals court found the gym violated the Consumer Protection Act by not properly informing members that transgender women would be allowed to use the women’s restroom, the Detroit Free Press reported in 2018.
‘That’s the purpose for having a men’s and women’s locker room, for the men to go into men’s and women to go into women’s,’ Cormier told DailyMail.com.
‘I suggested early on to have a unisex bathroom, and then people who are transitioning or you know, whatever, could use that bathroom.’
In her case, she said, the person in question, who was never identified, was not transgender. She claimed he was a ‘pervert’ man who had a history of stalking women around town.
‘He liked women and that was his way to get in there,’ Cormier said. ‘He was mental and he stalked women. He got kicked out of our mall for stalking a woman at a jewelry story, and he also approached roller derby girls asking them to have sex.
‘I’m surprised other people haven’t been raped or children molested,’ she continued. ‘That’s what’s going to keep happening eventually if you keep allowing this.’
She said she still believes that women’s restrooms should be reserved for biological women and that there should be separate ‘unisex’ bathrooms created for transgender women.
‘Whatever they need to do, but don’t invade my privacy,’ she said. ‘I should be the one to determine if I want the opposite sex in my bathroom.
‘You’re not a transgender hater to be against this,’ she added. ‘I don’t get why it’s so hard to comprehend. It never used to be.’
Cormier said her case was all the more frustrating because her perpetrator was not transgender. She claimed he was a ‘pervert’ man who had a history of stalking women around town.
Amid the fallout of Silva’s complaint, Planet Fitness saw over $400 million wiped off its value in just five days.
It comes as DailyMail.com learned Silva tried to get police involved in the dispute, but was told there’s no crime, DailyMail.com has learned.
‘She wanted us to do an investigation, however the report we got is the person was shaving in a female bathroom,’ Fairbanks police Sgt. Caleb Reuter told DailyMail.com on Thursday.
‘There was no indecent exposure that was reported. There was a male in the bathroom, fully clothed.
‘It was never a case because there’s no crime, regardless of anyone’s opinion on the matter,’ the sergeant added.
Planet Fitness in Fairbanks, Alaska touts its ‘judgement free zone’ to its members – but cancelled Silva’s membership after she complained about the incident
Planet Fitness’ policy stated that ‘discomfort is not a reason to deny access to the transgender member’
The company promptly cancelled Silva’s membership declaring she broke its ‘judgement free rules’ and violated a policy prohibiting photos in the locker room.
Silva then went back on social media to decry her cancellation, fanning a cultural war over transgender rights that has flared up in locales across America in recent years.
Silva, 67, described the encounter in her local gym on Facebook last week, expressing outrage that a ‘man with a penis’ was carrying out their ablutions in front of her and a young girl
In another post, the Alaska resident defended her reaction to the incident
Silva of Alaska is seen in Facebook photos with her husband and daughter
Silva told DailyMail.com that she has no regrets about her actions and will continue to raise alarm about the need to maintain the ‘safe space’ of a women’s bathroom, even though she’s getting some blowback from activists.
‘There’s some liberals that have come to my house,’ she said. ‘I’m not going to be stilled by anyone.’
Meanwhile, Silva said she’s been told by other gymgoers that Planet Fitness seems to be bending over backwards to appease the person she confronted, assigning staff to escort her into the bathroom while telling other female members they can ‘use a stall’ if they want more privacy.
After her encounter, Silva took to Facebook to tell people about her experience and recounted her argument with the transgender individual- Planet Fitness would go on to ban Silva and file a police report against her
The gym has defended its ‘judgement free’ inclusive policy – and has been said to be prioritizing the transgender woman, assigning staff to escort her into the bathroom while telling other female members they can ‘use a stall’ if they want more privacy
At this point, Silva said she has no desire to try to reinstate her membership. However she does want to return to speak with staff about a possible compromise. Like Cormier, Silva suggests creating a unisex bathroom for people who are transitioning.
‘I am going to go back to Planet Fitness to talk to them about how we can rectify this,’ she said. ‘I’m hopeful we can create safe spaces for everyone. Trans people, nonbinary people really need to have that space too, but it can’t be in my bathroom with a man.’
She also went into more detail about what happened in her exchange. In video she posted on Facebook, she didn’t make it clear whether the person was dressed. However she acknowledged to DailyMail.com that he was fully clothed.
Meanwhile in the video, she described seeing a girl of about 11 in the room. But she told DailyMail.com that the girl may have been closer to 16 years old.
She said she confronted the individual who was standing around the sink, stating ‘You are a man with a penis and you need to leave this restroom.’
‘Well, I’m LGB queer transitioning,’ she recalled him responding.
‘You’re still a man and you need to leave,’ she purportedly replied.
‘He wanted to continue arguing and I just walked out the door,’ she told DailyMail.com.
She then alerted staff at the front desk and said one female staffer replied, ‘It’s a girl.’ And I replied, ‘it’s a man.’
