Fitness and health enthusiast Raven Ross thought she ate down when sharing her thoughts on Pilates—but her recent rant, which she called an “extremely hot take” for Pilates girls, landed her in some hot tea. After she unleashed a lengthy explanation as to why she felt the mind-body exercise is not “diverse” or “accessible,” fans dragged the social media star for her dismissive, tone-deaf, and flat out ignorant perspective. It was really giving: “Oh, no she didn’t.”
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The mess began over the weekend, when the Pilates guru and former “Love is Blind” star took to social media to remind folks that contrary to what you may believe, Pilates isn’t accessible, comparing her craft to the luxury line Bottega Veneta. She attempted to address the wellness technique’s proximity to Whiteness, but instead the girls caught wind of her shade, prompting fierce backlash for what many deemed an “elitist” explanation. Mind you, she took the original video down. But the internet doesn’t miss a thing.
“As someone who’s entire business… brand goals, is about providing accessible and affordable Pilates to a diverse demographic of women. That’s what I started all of this on, so let’s talk about it,” Raven began. Just seconds after boasting her focus on diversity, her rant took a sharp turn.
“Let’s talk about it. What are some words you think of when you think of a really nice designer brand? I think of legacy. Craftsmanship. A lot of the products are handmade. People check them over and over to make sure the quality is there, the design is there—and that’s why we pay top dollar. Like, you would never walk into Bottega and be like, ‘Where’s the diversity? Where’s the accessibility?’ Babe, there is no accessibility. This is Bottega, okay? I want you to think the same way about Pilates,” the influencer ranted.
“Pilates is a legacy, okay? People have worked generations to preserve this method of exercise to even just training an instructor classically through a good program takes 500 hours minimum, okay? Nothing about Pilates is giving cheap,” she doubled down.
Fans couldn’t wait to call her bluff on this matter. Though the exercise began with Joseph Pilates, Kathy Stanford Grant — a Black woman, and acclaimed dancer and choreographer — is considered the godmother of Pilates. She was the first to be certified, and increased the accessibility of the beloved practice, especially to the Black American community, per YR Media.
Needless to say, folks were less than impressed with her “hot take.”
“Pilates is designer now ?? 😂” one asked with a laughing emoji. “She recorded, watched it over, AND posted this btw,” a second teased. “They have been having Pilates at the YMCA since the early 00’s 😅…there is nothing ‘preserved’ about it,” another called out. “This is why I just do Pilates videos on YouTube at home because everybody so judgmental! Trying so hard to feel special, you can’t do anything in peace nowadays 😭😭,” a fourth darted.
And no roast session would be complete without all the parody videos that come after:
Raven has a massive bubbling fanbase, and many folks have admitted to taking classes that she’s offered for free. That said, it certainly adds to the disappointment fans felt regarding her crass choice of words. And while she’s since apologized for the tone-deaf rant, fans on social media, and on Reddit, aren’t quite ready to let Raven Ross’ monologue blow over that easily.
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