The founder of yoga-wear company Lululemon has apologized for remarks he made last week suggesting that some women’s bodies “don’t work” in the brand’s pants.
In an interview on Bloomberg TV, Lululemon founder Chip Wilson responded to recent complaints that the quality of his company’s pants doesn’t match the high price by suggesting that the pants wear down because womens’ thighs rub together. In a video posted Friday, Wilson apologizes to his employees and implores them to “stay in a conversation that is above the fray.”
“I’m sad,” Wilson says in the video. “I’m really sad. I’m sad for the repercussions of my actions. I’m sad for the people at Lululemon who I care so much about, that have really had to face the brunt of my actions.”
In the video, Wilson does not apologize directly to women who were offended or refer to his specific comments.
This is not the first time Lululemon has come under fire for excluding women who do not fit into a narrow range of body types. Wilson has said that Lululemon would not make yoga pants larger than a size 12, and the company’s stores reportedly make it harder to find larger clothes sizes in the back. The company was also forced to recall pants this summer when it became clear they were sheer enough to see through.
As Melissa Harris-Perry pointed out in a letter to Wilson, the fitness outfitter is a devotee of conservative writer Ayn Rand who once suggested that breast cancer is caused in part by women working outside of the home.
Meredith Clark
Meredith Clark is a freelance writer and editor. She was previously a senior news producer for "Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj," a reporter with MSNBC.com, the digital politics and culture editor at Glamour and a senior news and politics editor at Refinery29. She has written for Vulture, Rolling Stone, Self, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, The Daily Beast and Bustle.