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Woman hits back after 'embarrassing' party bus snub over her body size

A woman has called for better acceptance after she went viral last week on TikTok, for claiming she wasn't let onto a party bus because of her size.

Fallon Melillo, a 27-year-old body positivity advocate from San Antonio, Texas, was recently on a trip to Miami with a few close friends, when she says she was turned away from the Spring Break Miami Party Service bus for transportation to go to a pool party at the Hard Rock Hotel on July 31.

viral TikTok Fallon Melillo plus size party bus
Fallon Melillo went viral on TikTok last week after she claimed she wasn't let onto a party bus because of her size. Photo: TikTok

The night before the event, Fallon stumbled on an Eventbrite page for the promoter that included this disturbing message: "Sorry, no big girls for this party! The doorman is very strict on appearance. If you have had problems getting into exclusive clubs before, then this is not for you!

"Please don't waste your time nor ours thinking that we can get you inside if you do not meet the qualifications."

In the TikTok clip, which has been viewed over half a million times, Fallon explains the promoter had never mentioned anything about these conditions, and when they reached out to club hosting the party - DAER Dayclub - they were assured the venue had no such rule.

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When the group tried to go ahead and attend they were turned away in a moment Fallon described in her clip as "downright awful and rude and humiliating".

"They did refund our money, but it was very embarrassing going there and them telling us we can't go."

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She called the incident 'rude and humiliating'. Photo: Instagram

Opening up about the incident, Fallon said she was "shocked" and "embarrassed".

"Being turned away in front of other people because of how I look and my size was absolutely humiliating," Fallon, who has over 50K followers in Instagram, told BuzzFeed.

"Even though I know I am beautiful on the inside and out, this moment made me feel helpless. This is what every plus-size person fears — being turned away from an event because of how we look.

"If businesses don’t get with the times of bigger people owning themselves, they will end up like this company — receiving a ton of backlash for their mistreatment and judgment. They will not be successful."

Since the video went viral, the party bus' Eventbrite page has been taken down, though a new page for the event still suggests, "A model look is encouraged".

A rep for Spring Break Miami Party Service told NBC 6 the post was written by a third-party contractor, saying in a statement the post was "hurtful, offensive, inappropriate, and never should’ve run in the first place".

The Hard Rock also shared a statement, writing: "DAER Nightclub/Dayclub swiftly terminated its relationship with this independent event promoter after an internal investigation. This promoter’s actions do not reflect Hard Rock’s culture of inclusivity."

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