Joey Swoll, an internet-famous bodybuilder, has been slammed by a fitness influencer for calling her out after she stood up for herself against what she thought was a lurker at her gym.
Joey, who is known across social media for calling out bad behavior in gyms, most recently called out Addison Elisa after she had shared a video of herself posing in the gym to admire her muscles when she spotted a guy looking at her as he walked by.
In the now-deleted Instagram Reel, Addison recorded herself quickly turning away, as though she looked uncomfortable, and captioned the video: “POV: You’re admiring your gains, but so is the random guy walking past the room.”
Joey Swoll, an internet-famous bodybuilder, has been slammed by a fitness influencer for calling her out after she stood up for herself against a man at the gym
Taking to his YouTube channel, Joey subsequently uploaded a response video slamming the fitness influencer.
“Filming your a** for the entire internet to see, but you’re upset when a guy walking by looks in to see what you’re doing?” the bodybuilder started his video.
He further argued: “How does that even make sense? This nonsense needs to stop.
“You’re in a shared space, the gym. You have a tripod set up, you’re posing, people are going to look at you, that’s normal.
Joey, who is known across social media for calling out bad behavior in gyms, most recently called out Addison Elisa
“This does not make that man a gym creep. But let me guess, if he would’ve looked [at] and liked your post online, you’d be ok with it.
“You need to do better. Mind your own business.”
Not even a day after Joey posted his video on Wednesday (January 17), Addison, who has been flooded with negative comments and trolls on her page, posted her own reply to the backlash.
“Joey, you used your ginormous platform to say what you needed to, so I’m going to use mine, and I really don’t care how small it is.” the content creator started.
“I posted what I posted. I did not need to zoom in on that man. I take full accountability for that,” Addison admitted.
The influencer went on to argue that her initial video had been taken out of context and that it had been misinterpreted, as she wasn’t uncomfortable at the time when she filmed her video.
“At the end of the day, the road does go both ways on accountability,” Addison stated.
She went on to argue that as a result of Joey’s response video, she had been at the receiving end of his fans “spewing hate” at her, and linked her experience with a previous article that addressed a video the bodybuilder had made against another woman, who ended up receiving death threats.
Addison had shared a video of herself posing in the gym to admire her muscles when she spotted a guy looking at her as he walked by
Addison further apologized for her original video and went on to demand that Joey and his fanbase take accountability for their damaging reactions online.
“I agree that, at some stage, Joey does need to address the comments because the level of personal abuse is not warranted,” a person commented on Addison’s response video.
The gym has seemingly been a breeding ground for various conflicts, especially on social media, in the past year.
Just earlier this week, a Seattle-based content creator filmed himself at the gym when a woman asked him to stop staring at her.
“I posted what I posted. I did not need to zoom in on that man. I take full accountability for that,” Addison admitted
While filming himself singing, the other gym-goer approached the lad and could be heard saying, “Excuse me, I would appreciate it if you stopped looking at me.”
The man, known as Sir Carter, immediately responded: “Girl, if anything, I’m looking at your boyfriend.” The woman obviously did not realize, at the time, that the TikToker was famously gay.
And at the beginning of this month, an influencer who had gone viral and sparked outrage for wearing “painted pants” to the gym was forced to issue a public apology.
In the now-deleted Instagram Reel, Addison recorded herself quickly turning away, as though she looked uncomfortable
“She zoomed in on a man simply walking by doing nothing wrong and then captioned it arrogantly,” the bodybuilder wrote in response to the backlash
Or, people care because this nonsense has no place in the gym or anywhere and people are sick of it. She zoomed in on a man simply walking by doing nothing wrong and said he was “admiring her” and then captioned it arrogantly as if people all look at her. He has every right to be…
— Joey Swoll (@TheJoeySwoll) January 17, 2024
Following a stint gone wrong, the influencer in question, known as Natalie Reynolds, said, “I’ve made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgment, and I don’t expect to be forgiven.
“I am simply here to apologize.”
Natalie had initially faced criticism after donning painted-on pants for a social experiment at the gym, leading to an unexpected clash with a man, ultimately igniting a viral debate on appropriate workout attire.
“It’s been cool to see your journey,” a person encouraged Addison
