‘LADIES, I’M A WOMAN’
Locker-room male stripper’s claim:
A Planet Fitness member in North Carolina allegedly entered a ladies’ locker room at the gym and stripped down “completely naked,” claiming that he identified as a woman, according to police and callers to 911.
Christopher Miller, 38, was arrested on a charge of indecent exposure and booked into the Gaston County jail last Thursday, with his online inmate entry identifying him as a male. His mugshot showed the suspect sporting a light-colored beard and mustache.
Miller’s arrest on a felony charge came after an alarmed woman at the Gastonia Planet Fitness called 911 to report there was a naked man in the ladies’ locker room, reported WSOC-TV.
“It’s a man but he says he identifies as a woman, and he won’t leave the restroom,” the 911 caller told an emergency dispatcher. “But he is just walking around showing us his — and he won’t leave.”
“OK, so he is completely naked?” the dispatcher asked.
“He is completely naked,” the caller said.
Sources told the outlet that Miller allegedly asked a female gym member in the locker room to lotion him up and take a shower together.
Planet Fitness allows members to use the restroom and locker room consistent with their self-reported gender identity, but there was no indication that Miller had identified himself as a transgender woman before venturing inside the ladies’ locker room.
‘Zero tolerance’
“At Planet Fitness, the safety of our employees and members is our top priority, and we have zero tolerance for harassment of any kind in our clubs,” said McCall Gosselin, chief corporate affairs officer at Planet Fitness. “We took immediate action to ensure the safety of club members, including notifying and working with law enforcement.”
Miller was ordered held on $25,000 bond.
The incident in North Carolina comes after a Planet Fitness in Fairbanks, Alaska, came to the defense of a transgender member who was photographed shaving in the women’s locker room.
Patricia Silva, 67, who took the photo because she said she was alarmed seeing someone “with a penis” grooming themselves next to a young girl, was later banned from the gym, with Planet Fitness claiming Silva violated the company’s policy. Since then, Planet Fitness gyms in 11 states have been targeted with bogus bomb threats.