A woman has accused her former boss of ‘fat shaming’ her after she filmed him saying he does not hire people who are overweight.
Stephanie Hearn, 38, shared the clip online of her row with Dr Chris Harrison, whose constant criticisms of her weight drove her to quit her job after three weeks, she claims.
The chiropractor reportedly later said that if she ‘still had rolls of fat on her’ at the end of her 90-day probationary period he may have to fire her.
Stephanie also claims Dr Harrison offered her a protein shake at work to help her lose weight and suggested she bought a diet book.
In the video the doctor, who runs a clinic in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, Birmingham in the US, tells her ‘I told you I don’t hire overweight people’.
When she complains that his attitude is illegal he tells her to ‘grow up’ and ‘call the FBI’.
Stephanie Hearn claims she was ‘fat shamed’ by her former boss Dr Chris Harrison
‘You killed my self-esteem’
Stephanie was hired by Dr Harrison three weeks ago to work as a receptionist but walked out of her job last week.
When she returned to the clinic to hand in her keys, she says her former boss followed her to her car when she recorded the conversation with her mobile phone.
‘You killed my self-esteem, I don’t even want to talk to you,’ Stephanie can be heard saying at the start of the video.
He then follows her to her car where she complains about his jibes over her weight and he tells her, ‘Stephanie, grow up’.
The 38-year-old quit her job last week after claiming her boss criticised her weight
She uploaded a video of her row with Dr Chris Harrison who tells her ‘to grow up’
Stephanie tells him to get his hands off her car while he asks what the matter is.
She says: ‘You think my mom needs to lose weight, you think I need to lose weight. You think I’ve got diabetes.
‘If you didn’t liked the way I looked or you thought I needed to get healthy, I’m not a guinea pig, I’m an employee.’
He replies: ‘It’s not about how you look, it’s about how your physiology is.’
She explains that her long shifts at the clinic meant she didn’t have time to work out, adding, ‘I shouldn’t even have to explain this to you, it’s too much.’
She continued: ‘I even told you I was in an abusive marriage where weight was constantly brought up all the time and we’re right back to it.’
Stephanie says the experience of working at the clinic has made her a ‘nervous wreck’
When she says he makes her feel guilty for having lunch with a friend Dr Harrison responds, ‘you’re the one who told me you’re upset with your weight, I didn’t say anything about it.’
But she says he brought her weight up and insisted she bought a diet book.
Stephanie says she’s been a ‘nervous wreck’ and her former boss declares, ‘You’ll never work for me again’.
He tells her she’s all ‘me me me’ to which she responds, ‘you’re an a**h*** who thinks women ought to be a cookie cutter person’.
During the conversation, Dr Harrison explains he was only trying to help her, before adding, ‘I told you I don’t hire overweight people. I told you that. That’s why I wanted to help you lose the weight.’
She denied he told his this during her interview and says, ‘You do realise that’s illegal, right?’ He responds, ‘Good, go call the FBI.’
He then proceeds to tell her diabetes is ‘one of the most devastating diseases known to man’.
She claims the chiropractor insisted she bought a diet book with her own money
Stephanie says her former boss made her feel guilty for having lunch with a friend
No backing down
In a media interview after the incident, Dr Harrison reportedly would not back down from his comments.
‘I’m not going to hire an overweight person and then try to sell weight loss here,’ told AL.com. ‘It doesn’t make any sense.’
‘I have nothing against overweight people. If you want to be that way, I can be your friend, but I’m not going to hire you.’
The website quotes the doctor as saying: ‘If she made no attempt whatsoever after 90 days, and still had rolls of fat on her, I may have at that point in time said, “Hey, I’m not going to hire someone who’s overweight.”
‘The reason is that being overweight is a big risk medically.’
It also reports Stephanie as saying she felt that she didn’t have a choice in drinking a protein shake he offered her, but Dr Harrison said he offered her it because he was already making one for himself and he was trying to be polite.
Dr Harrison also reportedly said that he typically does not hire people who take drugs for depression, which Stephanie had revealed she took on her employment medical form.
MailOnline has contacted Dr Harrison and Stephanie Hearn for comment.