Jenna, 19, from Swansboro, North Carolina, was in the bathroom of her church when a woman body-shamed her. Jenna shared a video she recorded of the exchange at the Swansboro United Methodist Church on Twitter over the weekend , saying in the tweet that the woman followed her into the bathroom to say she "couldn't wear jean shorts because I was too fat.
At the beginning of the video, the woman could be heard saying, "She's a chubby girl — she's got a dress on that's appropriate," apparently referring to another member of the church. Jenna responds, "So you're sitting here calling me fat? Jenna, through tears, repeatedly tells the woman to leave her alone. But rather than leave, the woman doubles down on her criticism. Getting more upset, Jenna asks the woman who she thinks she is to tell her what to do, but the woman just repeatedly tells her not to swear.
Read more: A wedding photographer was called 'abusive' and 'unprofessional' after refusing to offer services to an 'influencer' for free. In follow-up posts , Jenna explained the situation further and added some photos of the outfit she was wearing. She added: "I'm absolutely astonished that someone can have this much hate in their heart. Jenna said she told her pastor, who told her the woman would never be allowed to be part of any church committee or in a leadership role again.
The church said in a statement shared on Twitter and Facebook that while one of its principles is to "do no harm," it had come to its attention that "great harm has been done.
The Church is supposed to be a place of safety, love and acceptance. The statement continued: "We are currently working to assure that nothing like this will happen again and will update the church on specific next steps we are taking soon. On Tuesday, Jenna uploaded a video in a tweet that said "Be kind just love," where she thanked people for their love and support and asked them to stop searching for the woman on social media and sending hateful comments.
