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– If there’s one thing fans of high-profile fitness instructor Stacey Griffith can seek solace these days, it’s that she’s the rare celebrity who knows how to make an unqualified apology. “I would like to apologize from the bottom of my heart for my recent action in receiving the vaccine,” the SoulCycle instructor wrote on Instagram. “I made a terrible error of judgment and I am really sorry.” As her apologies pointed out, Griffith got hot water for her COVID vaccination – specifically, how she got in line to get it. Coverage:
- The shot: On Friday, the 52-year-old boasted in a since-deleted Instagram post that she had received the first dose of ‘Moderna magic’ on Staten Island, the Washington Post. She also thanked a few people for helping us navigate the paperwork. The backlash was swift and furious, with critics wondering how and why a SoulCycle instructor was getting ahead of health workers, seniors, teachers, etc., who are still waiting for their photos, per People. Fitness instructors are not among those currently shooting in New York.
- Her defense: Griffith initially defended herself by telling The Daily Beast that she was an “educator” in her own way. “It is my daily priority to keep my community and their respiratory systems running at full capacity so that they can defeat this virus if they are infected by it,” she said. “I can only teach them if I am healthy myself.”
- Company responds: That justification did nothing to appease critics, including New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. “I don’t think anyone who shows up and says, ‘Hey, I’m a SoulCycle Instructor’ should have qualified unless there’s some other factor,” he says. “That should have been noticed during the application process.” SoulCycle itself has responded to the controversy by stating that its instructors are not “educators” and should not be doing what Griffith did, Vox reports. It also took some effort to point out that Griffith was acting alone.
- Larger whole: Alex Abad-Santos’s Vox post sees the controversy as part of a bigger problem. “Even though there are rules about who can get the vaccine, being prosperous and having good contacts can help someone to jump the line.” Doesn’t help that SoulCycle is generally seen as a luxury product for affluent people. “That Griffith can get the vaccine symbolizes how easy it can be for wealthy people to get what they want before everyone else, especially those who are eligible under NYC guidelines and have not yet been able to book an appointment.”
(Read more SoulCycle Stories.)