Skip To Content
  • Viral badge
  • win badge

Shape Magazine Refused To Let This Woman Wear A Bikini On Its Site

Brooke Birmingham says the fitness mag is hiding what weight loss really looks like by asking her to cover up. Update: Shape responds and blames freelancer for "misunderstanding."

Meet Brooke Birmingham.

Over the past four years, she's managed to lose more than 170 pounds.

Shape magazine thought so too, which is why it contacted her to be a part of its "Success Stories" series.

"Success Stories" chronicles inspiring stories of real people who have lost weight and changed their lives.

But when Brooke submitted this "after" photo of herself in a bikini, Shape insisted she send in another of herself in a tee.

When Brooke asked why they wanted a different photo, she was told it was "policy" to show "Success Stories" in tees.

After going back and forth with Shape, Brooke eventually decided not to allow them to use her story.

A spokesperson from Shape said this has all been a terrible misunderstanding:

Misunderstanding or not, since Brooke posted about her Shape experience on her blog last week, the response has been overwhelmingly positive.