Company publicly shames internship applicant for Instagram bikini pic, gets slammed by critics

Emily Clow, a 24-year-old from Austin, Texas, applied to the marketing company Kickass Masterminds with the hopes of getting an internship with the firm. However, she was left shocked when the company took to social media platform Instagram to share a screenshot of one of Emily's personal photos from her profile. In the post uploaded to the company's Instagram Story, the firm essentially slut-shamed her for wearing a "revealing" bathing suit to a pool party, Daily Mail reports. In the post, the marketing firm claimed they were "looking for a professional marketer - not a bikini model." Following the rather surprising call-out, Emily took to Twitter herself to do a call-out of her own, exposing the company for their outdated perspective on professionalism. As expected, other Twitter users vehemently agreed with her.

The photo in question, uploaded earlier this year on June 19, features Emily at a pool party in a red bathing suit with her midriff and underboob exposed. As her Instagram profile is public, not private, anyone can view, like, and comment on the post. When Kickass Masterminds shared the photo, they captioned it with quite the preachy message. They wrote, "PSA {because I know some of you applicants are looking at this): do not share your social media with a potential employer if this is the kind of content on it. I am looking for a professional marketer - not a bikini model. Go on with your bad self and do whatever in private. But this is not doing you any favors in finding you a professional job."

Prompted by the firm's unwarranted behavior, Emily resorted to Twitter, where she posted: I was objectified earlier today by a company because of a picture of me in a bikini. They claimed it made me “unprofessional.” They [took a] screenshot [of]  the photo, posted it on their Instagram Story and called me out. I am still baffled that the company handled it in such a manner. She later added a screenshot of Kickass Masterminds' company description on LinkedIn, which, among other things, claimed they "match and manage Mastermind Groups for rebellious business owners. [Those who] are rebelling from the traditional way of earning a living because they've lost faith in 'corporate America.'"

Since Emily took to social media to fight back against the marketing firm, she has received an outpouring of support from users across the world. Anon_a_mooseCAD responded, Emily, you handled the situation very well, which is a testament to your professionalism. The speed at which it got around is evidence of your marketing skills. I hope the story gives you a 'breakthrough year!' May it help others who are in the same situation. JB_56_ added, Fancy wearing a swimsuit in a pool AND being good at your job. I think what they did is hugely unprofessional. Sounds like you’re better off not working with them. I mean, imagine if you turned up to work in a skirt or nice shoes?! What would they think of that?

Many others even reached out to Emily in order to help her get in touch with the right contacts or apply to jobs within their own companies. Since her post went viral, Kickass Masterminds have deleted their LinkedIn and Twitter pages and have made their Instagram profile private. Perhaps they plan on finetuning their marketing strategy.