A popular fitness influencer has been permanently banned from every location of a global gym chain following complaints from customers that she was taking too many selfies in the mirror.
Edda Pilz, known online as Edda Elisa, had her membership at John Reed Fitness revoked without warning after four years of training at the international chain.
The 25-year-old German influencer said she learned of the ban when her access card was suddenly blocked, and later shared a letter from the chain informing her of an unlimited ban from all John Reed Gyms across the world, apart from Switzerland.
Complaints and allegations
The measure was allegedly taken after furious members at the gym complained Edda was hogging the mirrors with her constant selfies and violating house rules and privacy policies around filming in the gym.
But the influencer has dismissed the official version of events, instead claiming the ban stems from jealousy by other female members of the gym who felt 'provoked' by her repeated mirror poses.
Edda, who has 649,000 followers on TikTok and 551,000 on Instagram, spoke about the experience on TikTok.
'I find this very strange, because the official John Reed account even reposts mirror photos of other members,' she wrote, claiming her large online following made her a target.
The influencer also made unfounded claims that the gym was more willing to punish her than deal with cases of sexual harassment involving members, which she presented without evidence.
Gym chain responds
The gym chain hit back at Edda's claims, telling German media outlet RTL: 'We can confirm that Edda Pilz’s contract has been terminated without notice. She has repeatedly violated our house rules and had already been warned beforehand.'
The chain refused to give further details on the exact breaches. In a gym members' WhatsApp group, one user allegedly said Edda 'has the IQ of a 10-year-old girl' and claimed that 'With her, staying calm and talking in a composed manner is pointless.'
Each John Reed location has the power to set its own binding house rules but the chain has not stated whether mirror selfies are explicitly banned. Edda says her growing online fame became a problem after previously being a regular at the gym with no issues.
Previous controversy
The drama is the latest controversy for the influencer. At the end of June, she claimed she was refused boarding a flight because her gym outfit was deemed too revealing, as reported by creatorzine.com.
Edda was wearing tight-fitting sports getup during a heatwave with temperatures reaching around 30C. She was reportedly denied entry on a Lufthansa flight.
According to the influencer, the representative told her: 'You cannot board.' When Edda asked why, the employee replied: 'You have nothing on. You are naked.'
The influencer, who lives in Berlin, fetched a jacket, put it on, and was then told to zip it fully closed before being permitted to board.
Edda, who has appeared on German reality TV shows such Ex on the Beach and Sommerhaus der Stars, boarded successfully after donning her jacket.
