Tim McGraw is stepping back from his partnership with Planet Fitness or at least he wants fans to think he has. He recently deleted a tweet promoting the gym after he garnered a lot of backlash.
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The now deleted tweet teased a special promo code for a free month. He wrote,"Getting up and moving is such an important part of my day, so I partnered with @PlanetFitness to give my fans a chance to get moving with a special offer. For a limited time you can get your FIRST MONTH FREE at Planet Fitness when you use promo code "MCGRAW". And when you join online, consider supporting the Judgement Free Generation® initiative to create a better tomorrow by donating to Boys and Girls Clubs of America."
Backlash was immense. One wrote, "Sell out. This dude sold his soul along time ago." Another wrote, "Tim. My man. Planet Fitness bro? They allow men in the women's bathrooms and vice versa. Gross."
Yet another wrote, "Lololololololo This was an epic failure on your part, Tim...country folks usually don't support woke companies that don't protect the safety of real women." Still, another wrote, "Seriously, you had to partner with a company who doesn't give a d—n about actual women's safety. So disappointing."
Planet Fitness Boycott
Some are boycotting Planet Fitness after they banned a woman from the gym. The woman posted a picture of a transgender woman in the women's locker room, telling employees that she felt uncomfortable. Employees explained that the person was transitioning to be a woman. After she posted the picture, the gym banned her.
They said in a statement, "As the home of the Judgement Free Zone, Planet Fitness is committed to creating an inclusive environment. Our gender identity non-discrimination policy states that members and guests may use the gym facilities that best align with their sincere, self-reported gender identity. The member who posted on social media violated our mobile device policy that prohibits taking photos of individuals in the locker room, which resulted in their membership being terminated."
The boycott seems to be working. The gym reported a decrease in membership. Chief Financial Officer Tom Fitzgerald reported last week, "The first part of March was pretty good, and then once social media sort of blew up over our policy issue, we definitely saw a change in the results in the back half of March. Joins and cancels were fairly significantly affected. The good news is we've seen the joins rebound, but cancels have remained elevated."