More than half a year after Lululemon came under fire for “verifying sheerness” of recalled yoga pants women were attempting to return, company founder Chip Wilson is stirring the pot again by saying his pants aren’t made for women who don’t have a thigh gap.
“Frankly some women’s bodies just actually don’t work for it,” Chip said on Smart Street of his company’s fitness pants.
Although Chip’s wife, Shannon Wilson, seemed to be slightly bewildered, Chip reiterated his point: “They don’t work for some women’s bodies. It’s really about the rubbing through the thighs, how much pressure is there over a period of time, how much they use it.”
When host Trish Regan asked for more clarification, Chip backtracked a bit by saying the pants “can” work on anyone… It just depends on how the woman uses them. Unfortunately for Chip, the damage was already done on social media, where people have called Chip a jerk, terrible person, clueless and sexist.
This isn’t the first time Lululemon’s come under fire for “fat shaming.” Back in 2005, Chip told Canada’s Calgary Herald that he would never invest in a plus-sized line because it’s “a money loser.”
“I understand their plight, but it’s tough,” he said of people who wear sizes bigger than 12.
Chip stepped down from his role as Lululemon’s CEO in 2005, but his ideology still influences the brand. Even former employees say they aren’t supposed to display larger sizes as prominently as smaller sizes.
“It was definitely discriminatory to those who wear larger sizes,” Elizabeth Licorish, who worked at a Philadelphia store in 2011, told Huffington Post last July.
Still, there is hope that Lululemon will come to embrace more sizes. Just this week, Abercrombie & Fitch executives — who were harshly criticized for taking a similar stance — announced the stores will carry larger sizes starting Spring 2014.
