by The ‘I’m A Celeb’ influencer has claimed a French luxury spa called police after a row in which two Muslim women were told they could not wear burkinis.
Nella Rose, the Belgian-born British influencer who appeared on the hit ITV show last year, was one of 20 UK creators on a brand tour to celebrate the launch of skincare brand Topicals. She claimed that two Muslim women in the group were banned from using the facilities because they were wearing modest swimwear.
The QC Terme website clearly states the dress code for women at the Chamonix branch: “One-piece or two-piece bathing suits. Any other type of clothing, including short bathing suits and covering bathing suits, is strictly prohibited.” The issue of burkinis has been a contentious issue in France since they were first banned from beaches in more than a dozen coastal towns in a ruling in 2016 that angered Muslims.
Last weekend, we hosted our third brand tour in Megève, France with a group of Black and Brown creators from the UK and USA.
At one of the establishments on our itinerary, we were discriminated against, harassed, and threatened with law enforcement.
— TOPICS (@topicals) April 1, 2024
A burkini is a form of body covering swimwear that leaves only the face, arms and legs exposed and is often worn by Muslim women who wish to preserve their religious modesty.
Topicals is a Black owned US company, said in a statement on social media that he had “suffered discrimination, harassment, and threatened us with law enforcement”. Topics did not name the spa.
In her Snapchat video, posted on March 30, Rose claims she was in the dressing room with a group of female influencers. As they were leaving, Rose says two Muslim women who were part of their party stopped and were told they couldn’t use the facilities while wearing their burqas. Rose, who speaks French, claims a member of staff told the two burkinis against their policy and ordered them to buy appropriate swimwear from the spa store.
Rose goes on to claim in her video post that the rest of those affected continued to go to the pool and were later told by a staff member that other people in the pool felt “uncomfortable”. Rose claims the spa’s policy of banning swimwear is Islamophobic.
Videos posted on TikTok last weekend that went viral show a staff member at Spa QC Terme in Chamonix, France, telling the group outside the building: “We called the police. They are coming.”
Yahoo News was unable to verify the video and attempted to contact Terme’s QC multiple times to confirm if they called the police and, if so, on what grounds. Yahoo News has also reached out to Rose and Topics for additional comment.
Rose posted her videos to Snapchat, and fans reposted her clips to TikTok where they went viral – with one of the re-uploads at 1.5 million views.
One of the Muslim women involved, May Tahmina Akhtar, said on her Instagram Stories: “It was a traumatic experience. I’m sorry that we’ve all experienced this but also that a black owned brand can’t even do a brand tour to uplift their black and brown creators without this nonsense.”
In 2016, France introduced a much-publicized ban on wearing bikinis in public swimming pools and beaches. As a result of the law women were forced to remove their burqas by police officers or face a fine. After an outcry, the ban was lifted across the country.
However, towns across the country are able to ban burkinis from public pools instead. In June 2022, France’s highest administrative court ruled that full-body swimwear – including the burkini – should not be worn in public pools in the city of Grenoble after the city’s Mayor of Grenoble challenged the law and argued that people should be allowed to dress as they were. good.
French director Bénédte Jeannerod, director of Human Rights Watch, said the ban in 2016 was “disgraceful and absurd”.
Topics said in a statement, posted to their social media platforms on April 1, that experience would not deter them from touring with black and brown creators. He said: “In one of the establishments on our itinerary, we experienced discrimination, harassment, and were threatened with law enforcement.
“Just like any other group of people, we should be able to enjoy the luxury of travel and better experiences without the constant fear of hatred.”
Who is Nella Rose?
The TV presenter started her own YouTube channel when she was studying for a degree in sociology at university. She won YouTuber of the Year at the PrettyLittleThings influencer awards in 2020.
Rose then broke into mainstream television when she landed the role of host on the UK version of MTV’s dating reality docuseries Catfish in 2022. Her biggest TV appearance was in the jungle in 2023, when she accused her colleague Nigel Farage of. wanting people like her to “go away” from the UK.
In a row, Rose told Farage “you seem anti-immigrant”, which she said she had read about on the internet. As the two of them stood in the camp’s bathroom area, Rose asked: “Why don’t you like black people?”
Farage said: “You’d be surprised, they do,” to which Rose replied: “So everyone hates you for no reason?” Farage replied: “You can disagree with someone, but it’s really unfair to deal with allegations.
“Anti-immigrant, right? No, I’m just saying we can’t keep up with the numbers that are coming to Britain that are coming.”
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