Tensions are escalating around Planet Fitness, the popular gym chain, following a viral incident that’s ignited a fierce debate.
The controversy began when a woman in Alaska shared a photo showing a transgender woman in the women’s locker room at the Fairbanks location. She accused Planet Fitness of allowing “men” into a space she argued should be reserved exclusively for cisgender women.
The original image captured the transgender woman shaving at a sink inside the locker room. The woman who posted the photo followed up with a passionate video expressing her outrage, which quickly gained traction and fueled widespread discussion.
In response, Planet Fitness canceled the membership of the woman who took the photo, while the transgender individual remained unaffected. The company reaffirmed its policy, emphasizing that people are welcome to use locker rooms aligned with their gender identity, but warned that any behavior deemed in bad faith could result in membership termination.
Since then, additional photos of the transgender woman using the gym’s locker room have circulated, prompting calls from conservative groups to boycott Planet Fitness nationwide.
This backlash appears to have hit the company hard financially. Over a span of 12 days, Planet Fitness’s stock price dropped from $66 to around $56. Its market value has taken a substantial dive as well—losing roughly $400 million, slipping from $5.3 billion to about $4.9 billion in just five days.
The unfolding saga highlights the growing cultural fault lines around gender identity and public spaces—and the very real consequences for businesses caught in the middle.