REVEALED: Planet Fitness previously banned ANOTHER member from gym for complaining about seeing transgender woman in locker room – who has now joined calls for boycott in wake of latest scandal

A Planet Fitness member who was banned in 2015 for complaining about a transgender woman in the women’s locker rooms said she “knew this would happen again” when she saw the latest controversy embroiling the gym.

Yvette Cormier, a Michigan woman whose membership at Planet Fitness was canceled nine years ago, told DailyMail.com on Thursday that she saw many parallels between her case and that of Patricia Silva.

Silva, 67, made headlines last week when she expressed her outrage that a “man with a penis” was performing their ablutions in front of her and a young girl wrapped in a towel. She confronted the person, took a photo and alerted staff.

“My first reaction was I knew this was going to happen again,” Cormier said.

She offered her support to Silva and joined conservative calls for a boycott, as she did in 2015 when she complained about seeing a transgender woman in the women’s locker room in Midland.

Patricia Silva was banned from Planet Fitness after sharing a photo of ‘a man with a penis’ using the female locker room to shave

Cormier sued Planet Fitness for invasion of privacy, sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract and emotional distress.

Silva lost, but an appeals court ruled that the gym violated the Consumer Protection Act by failing to properly inform members that transgender women would be allowed to use the women’s restroom, the Detroit Free Press reported in 2018.

“That’s the purpose of having a men’s and women’s locker room, where the men can go to the men’s locker room and the ladies can go to the women’s locker room,” Cormier told DailyMail.com.

“I suggested early on that we have a unisex bathroom, and then people who are transitioning or whatever could use that bathroom.”

In her case, she said, the person in question, who was never identified, was not transgender. She claimed he was a “perverted” man who had a history of stalking women in the city.

“He loved women and that was his way of getting in there,” Cormier said. ‘He was mentally disturbed and stalked women. He got kicked out of our mall for stalking a woman at a jewelry store, and he also approached roller derby girls asking for sex.

“I’m surprised that other people haven’t been raped or children haven’t been abused,” she continued. “That’s ultimately what will continue to happen if you continue to allow this to happen.”

She said she still believes women’s restrooms should be reserved for biological women and that there should be separate “unisex” bathrooms for transgender women.

“Whatever they have to do, but don’t invade my privacy,” she said. ‘I should be the one to decide if I want the opposite sex in my bathroom.

“You’re not a transgender hater to oppose this,” she added. ‘I don’t understand why it’s so hard to understand. That was never the case before.’

Cormier said her case was made all the more frustrating because her perpetrator was not transgender. She claimed he was a “perverted” man who had a history of stalking women in the city.

Amid the fallout from Silva’s complaint, Planet Fitness saw more than $400 million wiped off its value in just five days.

It comes after DailyMail.com learned Silva tried to involve police in the dispute but was told there was no foul play, DailyMail.com has learned.

“She wanted us to investigate, but the report we got is that the individual was shaving in a women’s bathroom,” said Fairbanks Police Sgt. Caleb Reuter told DailyMail.com on Thursday.

‘There was no indecent exposure. There was a man in the bathroom, fully clothed.

“There was never a case because there was no crime regardless of anyone’s opinion on it,” the sergeant added.

Planet Fitness in Fairbanks, Alaska touts its ‘judgment-free zone’ to its members – but canceled Silva’s membership after she complained about the incident

Planet Fitness’ policy stated that ‘discomfort is not a reason to deny admission to the transgender member’

The company immediately canceled Silva’s membership because she broke its “judgment-free rules” and violated a policy banning photos in the locker room.

Silva then took to social media to decry her cancellation, fueling a culture war over transgender rights that has flared up in several places across America in recent years.

Silva, 67, described the encounter on Facebook last week at her local gym, expressing outrage that a “man with a penis” was performing their ablutions in front of her and a young girl.

In another post, the Alaska native defended her response to the incident

Silva, from Alaska, is seen in Facebook photos with her husband and daughter

Silva told DailyMail.com that she does not regret her actions and will continue to raise the alarm about the need to preserve the “safe space” of a women’s bathroom, even if she receives some backlash from activists.

“A few liberals came to my house,” she said. “I won’t let anyone silence me.”

Meanwhile, Silva said she has been told by other gym-goers that Planet Fitness appears to be going out of its way to appease the person she was confronted by, assigning staff to escort her to the bathroom and telling other female members to ‘can use a stall’ if they want more. privacy.

After her meeting, Silva took to Facebook to tell people about her experience and opened up about her fight with the transgender woman. Planet Fitness would then ban Silva and file charges against her.

The gym has defended its ‘judgment-free’ inclusive policy – saying it prioritizes the transgender woman, assigning staff to escort her to the bathroom and telling other female members they can ‘use a stall’ if they want more privacy

At this point, Silva said she has no desire to try to reinstate her membership. However, she does want to return to talk to staff about a possible compromise. Like Cormier, Silva suggests creating a unisex bathroom for people in transition.

“I’m going back to Planet Fitness to talk to them about how we can fix this,” she said. “I’m hopeful that we can create safe spaces for everyone. Transgender and non-binary people really need to have that space, but that is not possible in my bathroom with a man.’

She also elaborated on what happened during her exchange. In the video she posted on Facebook, she did not clarify whether the person was clothed. However, she acknowledged to DailyMail.com that he was fully clothed.

Meanwhile, in the video, she described seeing a girl about 11 years old in the room. But she told DailyMail.com that the girl may have been closer to 16 years old.

She said she approached the person standing at the sink and said, “You are a man with a penis and you need to get out of this restroom.”

“Well, I’m an LGB queer who is transitioning,” she remembered him replying.

“You’re still a man and you need to leave,” she allegedly replied.

“He wanted to continue arguing and I just walked out the door,” she told DailyMail.com.

She then alerted the front desk staff and said a female employee replied, “It’s a girl.” And I replied, ‘It’s a man.’