‘Get over it!’: Woman slams ‘revolting men’ at Splendour in the Grass for body-shaming her

A woman has slammed the “revolting men” who tried to body-shame her at the Byron Bay festival, calling them out for fatphobia.

A young woman has called out two “revolting men” for trying to body-shame her at the Splendour in the Grass music festival over the weekend, slamming them for being “fatphobic”.

Shelbi Evans, an aged care worker from Grafton in northern NSW, travelled to Byron Bay on Friday for day one of the three-day music and arts festival.

It was her first time at Splendour, she told news.com.au, and she would only be there for one day, hoping to see pop superstar Lizzo perform.

She decided to go all out with a colour-coordinated outfit for her debut – a tight see-through orange and black crop top and loose-fitting orange pants – and decorated her face with stick-on gems.

Shelbi Evans called out two “revolting men” at the Splendour in the Grass festival on Friday. Picture: Facebook.

This is the outfit that triggered the men’s response. Picture: Supplied.

But Ms Evans’ day was soured thanks to the reactions of two male festival-goers who retched at her outfit.

“To those that say fatphobia isn’t real; I’ve just had two revolting males dry reach at me for wearing what I am wearing tonight,” she wrote on Facebook that evening.

“Instead of seeing my smile or hair or anything else, they noticed my weight and decided to turn my smile to a frown.”

Along with the post, Ms Evans shared a selfie showing her smiling, bejewelled face at the festival.

In the caption, the aged care worker declared: “I will not let these fatphobic f**ks dull my shine.”

“Fat people exist! Get over it! I am not here to make anyone comfortable but myself. Next time you see a fat person, shut your mouth and keep any opinion you have to themselves.”

Ms Evans said she had spent years fighting for the confidence she has and the men’s efforts to make her feel bad only made her feel “more confident so f**k yas (sic)”.

In a bizarre move, one of the men who allegedly body-shamed her commented on Ms Evans’ post confirming it was him and a mate.

His comment has since been deleted, but read: “Can confirm it was my mate and I”.

Ms Evans replied it was “defs (sic) something to be proud of … good on yas”.

One of the men appeared to comment on the post confirming it was him and a mate who body-shamed Ms Evans. Picture: Facebook

The post was flooded with supportive comments for Ms Evans’ outfit and her positive attitude despite the “putrid” comments.

“You go girl don’t let any f**k wit get you down. You do what makes you feel good. They have the problem,” one woman wrote.

“Girl you are gorgeous! Screw them,” another wrote.

“Yuck. What foul humans they are!” a third person replied

“I hope that one day they find happiness within themselves so they can learn to stop hating on people that don’t fit their standards. No excuse for their behaviour, honestly putrid!”

They finished by saying: “You look amazing, and like you’re having a wonderful time!!!”

“I think you look fabulous. Screw those people. Good on you for just living your best life,” someone else wrote.

Ms Evans called out the fatphobic comments made over the colour co-ordinated outfit she wore to the festival. Picture: Supplied.

Ms Evans told news.com.au she co-ordinated her outfit to suit her “natural ginger hair that I am also fiercely proud of”.

She said she went home shortly after the incident, but not because of it, around 8.30pm and was disappointed to miss Lizzo’s set.

“Still disappointing I had to go through all that to not see the act I was there for,” she said.

She said she wanted to “spread the message of self love” – not unlike the ‘Good As Hell’ singer Ms Evans tried to see.

“I am not encouraging or endorsing obesity, I am in fact encouraging people to just be comfortable in the body they have been given,” she continued.

“I don’t understand why others feel the need to bring someone down who is just trying to have a good time.”

Some 35,000 people flocked to the Byron Bay parklands for the 2023 Splendour in the Grass festival. Picture: Supplied/ Splendour

Some 35,000 people flocked to the Byron Bay parklands for the 2023 Splendour in the Grass festival – a smaller crowd than the 50,000 people who sloshed in the mud at last year’s event.

Revellers donned their finest festival garb – many giving a nod to the Barbie movie – ready to party all weekend-long, despite tickets failing to sell out as they usually do.

The line up included ‘Truth Hurts’ popstar Lizzo, Grammy-winning Aussie DJ Flume, and British folk band Mumford and Sons.

It was a vastly different affair to the 2022 festival, renamed ‘Splendour in the Mud’ for the sloppy conditions, with festivalgoers flooding social media with photos and videos of themselves enjoying the sunshine, dancing near stages, or posing on the famous hill at the Byron Bay parklands.