A woman has spoken out about the "humiliating" experience of being turned away from a party - because of her size.
Fallon Melillo, a plus-size influencer, has racked up thousands of fans on social media by sharing a body-positive message online.
But a recent video on TikTok went viral - after she shared her devastating experience of being refused entry to a party bus after buying a ticket because of her weight.
Fallon, who lives in San Antonio, Texas, was on holiday in Miami with a few close friends when the incident occurred last week.
In a TikTok video, she described the incident, explaining that her friends had decided to attend a pool party at a central hotel nightclub.
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The group also purchased tickets for a party bus - which they planned to travel in on their way to the main event at the hotel.
But the night before, Fallon noticed the conditions for being granted access to the bus - which were fairly restrictive.
It said : "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."
Fallon said her friend had booked the tickets for the bus through a promoter, who hadn't mentioned anything about these conditions.
And they spoke to the nightclub the bus was taking them to - who assured them they didn't have any entry conditions based on people's weight.
Describing what happened next, the 27-year-old said when they arrived to board the bus, a male member of staff took one of the girls aside and told her that Fallon wasn't welcome.
"Being turned away in front of other people because of how I look and my size was absolutely humiliating," Fallon told BuzzFeed. "I was embarrassed and shocked, to say the least.
"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."
In her video, she added: "I am bigger than the average girl. They decided to tell us that we couldn't get on the party bus, they did refund our money but it was very embarrassing to go there and them telling us we can't go."
She added: "I am confident. But at this moment I felt embarrassed being denied access and turned away at the door to get on a bus due to my size.
"The unrealistic body image in today’s society that people must attain is disgusting and damaging to young girls and women. The average size of a woman in society is a size 16."
In the comments of her video, others shared their own experiences with discrimination due to size.
“I’ve been turned away from a club for the same thing before. So messed up,” one woman commented, while another said: "This is the kind of thing I need skinny people to understand when I say it's not the same as when someone told them to eat more."
