Lilly Pulitzer Company Accused of Fat Shaming at Headquarters

A behind-the-scenes look revealed more than the company would like.

ByABC News
May 26, 2015, 3:33 PM
A woman shops for Lilly Pulitzer items at Target.
A woman shops for Lilly Pulitzer items at Target.
ABC News

— -- Lilly Pulitzer is again stirring up controversy along with it's colorful cocktail-and-dress culture, but it has nothing to do with it's Black-Friday-style team-up with Target last month.

The brand's King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, headquarters was the subject of an online story and slideshow Tuesday on New York magazine's The Cut. Among the photos of pink-and-green clad and perfectly coiffed employees there's one photo that stands out.

In what appear to be hand-drawn illustrations, an overweight woman is captioned with the saying, "Just another day of fat, white and hideous. You should probably just kill yourself." Another depicts a similarly shaped woman in a bikini with the saying, "Put it down carb face."

In a slide prior to the one causing controversy, an employee is quoted as saying Lilly herself was "ultrainclusive." But social media has labeled the image as fat shaming.

The image in the slideshow was originally run with no information in the caption. The site later added: "(This image shows the personal illustrations of an employee not pictured in this story.)"

“These illustrations were the work of one individual and were posted in her personal work area," Jane Schoenborn, vice president of creative communications at Lilly Pulitzer, told ABC News in an emailed statement. "While we are an employer that does encourage people to decorate their own space, we are a female-dominated company and these images do not reflect our values. We apologize for any harm this may have caused.”

New York Media would not comment except to say the photo was taken in a Lilly Pulitzer employee's office. The photographer did not respond to multiple requests for comment regarding the circumstances surrounding the photo.

The Target-Lilly Pulitzer collaboration was an overall hit with consumers, but some potential customers were upset when Target announced in January they would only sell up to size 18 in the stores. Larger sizes would be available online only.