Ex-Prabal Gurung employee says he fat-shamed her during pregnancy

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Designer Prabal Gurung's models clutched white roses in support of the #MeToo movement during NYFW — but a former employee says the so-called "feminist" designer fat-shamed her while she was pregnant and fired her weeks after she gave birth.

Melissa Teitel worked as Gurung's director of sales in 2014 and became pregnant with her first child just months after landing the gig, telling Vox the designer, who also serves as the chief executive of the company, repeatedly made derogatory comments about her weight gain and shamed her for bringing a large serving of trail-mix to share with fellow co-workers.

"You know that's not a single serving, right?" Teitel claims he said as she took a handful of the mix to eat.

She said she tried to explain he brought the snack for the office, but Gurung then laughed at her.

"He's doing this in front of everybody," Teitel told Vox. "I couldn't even get my words out."

Teitel said there was another incident where they met with investors from a venture capital firm, who later decided to pass on investing in Gurung's line for what he told her, was because they were unhappy with her appearance. She began jotting the comments down in an email to herself as she began understanding she was being treated unfairly.

"We know you're pregnant, but this look isn't really working for me," she recalls Gurung saying, gesturing at her pregnant body.

"No one wants my body back more than me," Teitel said she replied.

"I certainly hope so," he said.

Teitel had preeclampsia during her pregnancy, which can cause severe swelling. She recalled her feet and ankles being extremely swollen during her pregnancy, but Gurung refused to let her wear flat shoes, claiming a colleague wore heels throughout her pregnancy.

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"Maybe dresses aren't the best option," she says he told her. "Nobody should see those legs."

"There was never a moment where I didn't feel like a target," Teitel told Vox.

While Teitel was home recovering from her C-section and becoming accustomed to breastfeeding her newborn baby girl, she said she was unexpectedly let go from the company.

A spokesperson for the company told Vox that she left "on her own volition." The company spokesperson added that it was "saddening to hear that a former member of our team had a negative experience while working at our brand."

Teitel gave birth to her daughter on Sept. 10, 2015 and was asked to come back to work on Oct. 26. Her maternity leave was paid for two weeks beginning when she was ordered to go on bed rest in mid-August. She asked to work part-time from home as she was still recovering from surgery and working with a lactation consultant to breast feed.

The company did not agree and insisted she come back full-time, Vox reported. Teitel claimed they told her she had effectively resigned, but in her eyes she was fired — and asked to repay the company for her clothing allowance and health insurance.

Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) looks at a cape worn by recording artist Katy Perry (L) during a get-out-the-vote concert at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts on November 5, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With three days to go until election day, Hillary Clinton is campaigning in Florida and Pennsylvania.

Gurung's spokesperson also told Vox that Teitel's account "does not in any way reflect the spirit or culture of our work space."

The designer has been outspoken about fashion's responsibility to adapt to the ever-changing political environment, including using more diverse models and voicing support for movements like #MeToo and Time's Up.

Gurung has used plus-size models, models of color and transgender model Andreja Peji? often in his shows. He has also been candid about the challenges of growing up gay.

For the 2016 election, Gurung made a custom dress for Katy Perry in support of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton which read, "I'm with Madam President."

In 2017, he ended his own showing during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Berlin wearing a T-shirt that read: "This is what a Feminist looks like."

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That same year, he sent a model down the runway wearing a T-shirt, "The Future is Female" and his most recent show on Feb. 11 at NYFW ended with models, including superstars Bella and Gigi Hadid, holding white roses as was a symbol at this year's Grammy Awards to show support for Time's Up.

He told the New York Times that they symbolized the need to listen in the wake of countless accounts of harassment and assault.

"Especially as a man, my job is to listen," he said. "If any man or men are to learn anything from this, it is to really listen to women."

Teitel told Vox she has yet to search for a new job in fashion sales because of her terrible experience at Prabal Gurung. She was also left anxious about meeting former colleagues, because she was so concerned with what Gurung might have said about her to others.

"I'm so hurt and angry at the way they've treated me," she texted friends after her pregnancy.

"He made me hate my body so much," a third message obtained by Vox, which was sent to a friend after Gloria Steinem attended Gurung's show, reads. "A feminist doesn't do that to a pregnant woman."

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