A well-known fitness influencer has been permanently barred from all branches of a global gym franchise due to complaints from patrons accusing her of excessive mirror selfies.
Edda Pilz, also recognized as Edda Elisa on social media, had her long-standing membership at John Reed Fitness terminated abruptly after four years of regular attendance at the chain’s various locations.
The 25-year-old influencer from Germany was surprised to discover her access card deactivated, and later received a letter from the gym chain stating an indefinite ban from all John Reed Gyms worldwide, except in Switzerland.
Allegedly, the action was taken following complaints from disgruntled gym members who accused Edda of monopolizing the mirrors with her continuous selfie-taking, breaching gym rules and privacy policies regarding filming on premises.
Contrary to the official explanation, Edda believes the ban was motivated by jealousy from fellow female gym-goers who felt provoked by her frequent mirror poses, leveraging her substantial online following as a reasoning.
Expressing her thoughts on TikTok, where she commands a significant audience of 649,000 followers on TikTok and 551,000 on Instagram, Edda questioned the gym’s decision, highlighting that the official John Reed account reposts mirror selfies from other members.
Moreover, Edda made baseless allegations that the gym management was quick to penalize her instead of addressing instances of sexual harassment involving other members, without providing any evidence to support her claims.
In response to Edda’s assertions, the gym chain informed German media outlet RTL that Edda Pilz’s contract was terminated abruptly due to repeated violations of house rules, despite prior warnings issued to her.
Although specific infractions were not disclosed, a member of a gym WhatsApp group reportedly criticized Edda, questioning her intelligence and suggesting that engaging with her in a calm manner was futile.
While individual John Reed locations have the authority to establish their own enforceable house rules, it remains unclear if mirror selfies are explicitly prohibited. Edda expressed that her rising online popularity became problematic after previously being a regular gym attendee without any issues.
This incident adds to a series of controversies surrounding the influencer. In late June, she claimed she was denied boarding a flight due to her gym attire being deemed too revealing during a hot weather spell, as reported by creatorzine.com.
Wearing snug sportswear in temperatures nearing 30°C, Edda was allegedly refused entry onto a Lufthansa flight, with an airline representative deeming her outfit insufficient. After putting on a jacket and fully zipping it up, Edda was eventually allowed to board the flight successfully.
Residing in Berlin, Edda, who has appeared on German reality TV programs such as Ex on the Beach and Sommerhaus der Stars, encountered no further issues after complying with the airline’s dress code policies.