Facebook Forced To Apologise For Rejecting Ad Featuring Plus Size Model Tess Holliday

An advert featuring model Tess Holliday was rejected by Facebook [Photo: Facebook/Cherchez La Femme]

If you’re looking for a body positive poster girl, look no further than plus size model Tess Holliday. She was certainly the obvious choice for feminist group Cherchez la Femme who turned to the pregnant star to advertise a body positive event on social media.

There was just one problem. The ad, which aimed to promote a positive body image, was actually rejected by Facebook for violating its “health and fitness” policy.

The advert, to promote an event called ‘Feminism and Fat’, featured a picture of the model in a bikini but was banned by the social media site because it “depicts a body or body parts in an undesirable manner”.

Tess Holliday is famous for her body positive attitude [Photo: Instagram/tessholliday]

Facebook told Jessamy Gleeson, the author of the post and one of the organisers of the event, the image would not be taken down but it was prohibited from being promoted elsewhere on the platform.

“The image depicts a body or body parts in an undesirable manner,” a message from the Facebook Ads team read.

“Ads may not depict a state of health or body weight as being perfect or extremely undesirable.“

The message went on to explain that other images which fall under this remit are close-ups of “muffin tops” where the overhanging fat can be seen, people in too-tight clothes and images which present eating disorders in a negative light. They also suggested the organisation might want to use “an image of a relevant activity, such as running or riding a bike.”

The pregnant model isn’t afraid to call out the body shamers [Photo: Instagram/tessholliday]

But now, in a massive u-turn, the social media giant has decided to reverse it’s decision to ban the advert and issued an apology for not initially approving the image.

“Our team processes millions of advertising images each week, so we occasionally make mistakes,” a spokesperson told The Independent.

“To be clear, the image complies with our advertising policies. We have now approved the image and apologise for any offence this caused.”

This isn’t the first time a body positive advert has been banned. Earlier this year, NBC and ABC found themselves under fire when they rejected a Lane Bryant ad deemed too raunchy for their advertising standards.

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