A TikTok user who was once fired for having a fitness TikTok says the man who got her fired now has an account posting similar content.
Presley Pritchard (@presleykp) is a paramedic and fitness coach with more than 185,000 followers on TikTok. She went viral back in 2020 after she was fired from a Montana fire department after being criticized for posting photos that were “too racy” on social media.
“Basically, I grew like 60 pounds—just being strong. I used to be skinny. So being a firefighter and a paramedic, a lot of women looked up to that on Instagram,” she told the Daily Dot. “So I was starting to show, this is how I stay on track when I’m going on a 24-hour shift and the meals I eat, and the workouts I do. All that good stuff.”
Pritchard said her photos weren’t “racy” at all, and attributed the pushback from both her employer and people within the community as a byproduct of the “good ol’ boys club” in the firefighting profession.
One of the firefighters that took issue with Pritchard’s social media presence was Ben Covington, who, according to the Flathead Beacon, objected to Pritchard “using taxpayer equipment for the benefit of her side business,” in particular posting photos that featured her in a department T-shirt.
Pritchard removed the post and replaced it with one without the department logo. Despite removing any direct references to the department’s logo from her page, Pritchard was later told by management to delete all posts related to her job or face dismissal. She refused and was fired, but later filed a successful a discrimination lawsuit.
“They tried saying I made money off of things there. And I had every single company I was sponsored by wrote me a letter that said that they’ve never paid me for anything that had anything to do with my job. It was strictly fitness in the gym,” she said.
So imagine Pritchard’s surprise last month when a former co-worker reached out to let her know Covington (@rustywalrus.1507) is now a social media influencer who live streams fires and other matters related to the profession.
“So the assistant chief who is the one who fired me and put me through all that stuff—he now has like 100k followers on TikTok and YouTube, and he livestreams fire department fires and like utilizes his position and makes money off of it,” she said.
@presleykp We love our kiwi 🥝🥹
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“So I showed up on his livestream and was like, ‘Wow, this is interesting.’ He was like, ‘What do you mean?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, how the tables have turned.’ And he goes, ‘This isn’t even the same thing.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, OK. You’ll see.’ And then he blocked me. Why would you block me? You’re obviously guilty,’” she said.
She continued, “And so this guy now, he’s doing the same thing. And he livestreams. And the whole theme of his social media is fire department. So I reached out to the board and was like this is hilarious. Maybe you guys should do something about this, but oh wait you won’t because he’s one of the top leaders of the good ol’ boys club. Nothing is going to happen to him. That’s just how it is. Women are so often harassed and abused and discriminated against in these types of careers. And any time that they go to speak up about it, they’re crazy. And they’re the ones that are the problem.”
Reached by the Daily Dot, Covington wrote, “I was her supervisor at the time and I am not able to comment on her situation. I can tell you that I have not violated any policies with my employers, and am not doing anything similar to what she had done. I do feel bad that things turned the way that they did with Presley. I hope that she is doing well.”