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Size 10 woman claims she was denied entry to nightclub for being 'too big'

'It completely ruined my birthday'

Charlotte England
Saturday 08 October 2016 10:41 BST
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Bobbi Jo Goldsmith who is described as a 'size 10 cheerleader'
Bobbi Jo Goldsmith who is described as a 'size 10 cheerleader' (Facebook user: Deborah Kerr)

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A woman has claimed she was denied entry to a London nightclub because of her weight.

Bobbi Jo Goldsmith had booked a table at Libertine London to celebrate her 20th birthday with nine friends on 30 September.

But Ms Goldsmith claimed her group were picked out from others in the queue and asked to leave by club staff who said the women were "too big".

“I was just totally embarrassed,” Ms Goldsmith told The Mirror.

“They just looked us up and down and told us that we were too big.

"It completely ruined my birthday.”

Ms Goldsmith’s mother Deborah Kerr shared the story and her daughter’s photograph on Facebook. At the time of writing, the post had been shared nearly 6,000 times and had 11,000 likes.

“This figure is too big (my daughter in the image below) and her friends were told by [a] club [sic],” Ms Kerr said.

She said a promoter was told by a "tall French woman at the entrance of the club" that the group "weren't the look the club wanted".

“They were all made to feel dreadful, pulled out from the queue and told to leave," Ms Kerr added.

"The table and arrangements were all pre-organised — it's not like they just turned up”

She said the club's behaviour was discriminatory and should not be tolerated.

"No wonder young girls of today have so many hang ups!" she said.

Ms Goldsmith said she was worried about the impact door policies like Libertine's could have on other women.

“I want to highlight this – it shouldn't be happening in 2016," she said. "It's horrible.”

Other people said they had been turned away for being “too drunk” when they had barely had any alcohol and belived this was another excuse to judge and turn people away on the basis of their appearance.

Libertine London isn't the only club to be accused of size discrimination. Last year, four women claimed they were turned away by Soho club DSTRKT for being "too dark" and "too fat".

In a statement sent to the Mirror, Libertine London denied the allegation that they had turned Ms Goldsmith away because of their weight.

A spokesperson said: “We would like to make it clear that, any assumptions or comments concerning the reason for not granting entry, certainly did not come from anyone employed or connected to us and are in no way reflective of our actual door policy.

“The club is nearly always over-subscribed and turning people away is commonplace for us and every other venue.

”On that particular night we had over 500 people through the doors and turned away 119 potential customers.

“Potential customers are given priority based on who they booked with. Members and house guestlist coming first, followed by the in-house PR team and then freelance promotional companies and their sub-promoters.

”On any given night our club is filled with a diverse and inclusive group of people, which is something we pride ourselves upon. We would never reject anyone based upon their dress size or physical appearance."

Ms Kerr added her daughter had still enjoyed her birthday — no thanks to Libertine.

“Luckily she's a strong and resilient girl so wasn't too affected by it," she said.

"But it made the night even more expensive, because they hadn't booked a table or anything like that."

She added: “She's only a size 10. She's a cheerleader. I don't understand why they didn't get in.

"Having read the reviews, Libertine is known for this stuff. I think it should be boycotted."

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