Influencer Jessica Fernandez’s apology after calling out gym ‘creep’

Twitch influencer Jessica Fernandez has apologised after she went viral for posting a video about a man at the gym she said was staring at her “like a piece of meat”.

Twitch influencer Jessica Fernandez has issued an apology after she went viral for posting a video about a “feral” man at the gym who she claimed was staring at her “like a piece of meat”.

As reported by the New York Post, Fernandez published the apology on TwitLonger – an extension of Twitter that allows users to post tweets longer than 140 characters – calling the video “the most serious thing I have ever posted”.

“First of all, I want to apologise sincerely to the man at the gym where this all started. He didn’t do anything wrong to me and I blew our interaction out of proportion,” Fernandez wrote.

“I know many people think that I’m only apologising because I got called out from the video I posted and this is half right.”

Twitch influencer Jessica Fernandez has apologised after she went viral for a video about a man at the gym who she claimed was staring at her 'like a piece of meat'. Picture: TikTok

After reading thousands of comments about the situation, Fernandez finally realised how damaging the video could have been for the man in question. Picture: TikTok

The video – which has since been deleted – showed Fernandez lifting weights and complaining about a man standing behind her.

“Stupid f***ing piece of sh*t behind me,” said Fernandez into a microphone. “I hate this. I hate this. I hate when there’s weirdos.”

Fernandez then zoomed in on the alleged “creep” who could be seen nearby and later offered to help her attach a plate to the barbell she was using.

The video also featured several captions, including, “What if I just ripped his pp out of its socket so he can never reproduce again” and “natural selection better take these weirdos out”.

Fellow fitness influencer Joey Swoll called her out on it, saying that she “needs to do better”.

“Women are harassed in gyms and it needs to stop, but you are not one of them. An act of kindness or a glance does not make you a victim,” the caption on Swoll’s video read.

Fernandez published the apology on TwitLonger, calling the video 'the most serious thing I have ever posted'. Picture: Twitter

Swoll suggested in the video that the man was simply trying to help Fernandez because he thought she was struggling with the weight and pointed out that she was in front of him and had her camera facing him.

“First and foremost, as I’ve said before, there is a big difference between staring at somebody and simply looking or glancing at them,” said Swoll.

“So why did this man look at you? Well, you’re in front of him, off to the side. You’re in his peripheral. You’re also taking a video with your camera pointed directly at him, and you’re talking to yourself.

“He’s probably watching you wondering, ‘What is she doing?’ Know I would.”

Fellow fitness influencer Joey Swoll called out the streamer, saying that she 'needs to do better'. Picture: TikTok

Fernandez revealed in her apology that she has been a victim of sexual assault and sexual harassment and that both events have left her “extremely” damaged.

The influencer also conceded that if she had not been called out, she wouldn’t have had a chance to learn from her mistake.

“After reading literally thousands of comments about me, the situation and the man in question, it truly opened my eyes to how damaging this could have been for him,” Fernandez said.

“Men and women deal with very different problems in the realm of the opposite sex and after looking through the lens of an innocent man put in a situation like that, it honestly made me feel sick to my stomach with guilt.

“I think it’s important to call people out on their mistakes and, in the words of Joey, help them ‘do better’. This is exactly what I plan to do with not just my content but my life moving forward.”

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission