Female bodybuilder Ash Di-Carlo spoke out in an Instagram post after she was falsely accused of being a biological male competing in women’s competitions.
Several users on Twitter shared a video of Di-Carlo flexing in a bikini next to another fellow contestant and posted comments insinuating Di-Carlo is a male-to-female transgender person. (RELATED: Gavin Newsom Fines School District $1.5 Million For Rejecting LGBT Materials)
“It appears the issue has entered women’s bodybuilding,” Marc Lobiner, CMO of Tiger Fitness, wrote on Twitter.
An hour after the original tweet, however, Lobiner reversed course. “NOTE: It appears this is a biological woman,” he wrote, without deleting his original post.
Proposed community notes on Twitter provided links to Di-Carlo’s Instagram page, where she shared an image of herself before she became a bodybuilder.
NOTE: It appears this is a biological woman.
— Marc Lobliner – IFBB Pro (@MarcLobliner) July 20, 2023
“Rite let’s put this to bed shall we…. I didn’t wanna have to do this and I shouldn’t have to to be honest but quite frankly I’m sick of all this bullshit going round the world about me so here it is…. This is me in 2019 just before I started lifting….. all you keyboard warriors out there need to get a life instead of trying to destroy mine….,” Di-Carlo wrote in the photo caption.
“You couldn’t begin to comprehend the sacrifice and dedication it’s taken me to gain my physique,” she continued. “If I had long hair I bet it would be different….. take a look at all the pro women bodybuilders and if you remove their long hair they are no different to me!!!! I have a right to be up there and quite frankly no amount of slander will stop me chasing my dreams…. Now give it a rest eh!!!”
When reached for comment, Di-Carlo directed the Daily Caller to her Instagram post.
The bodybuilding community appears to have largely avoided the controversy over transgender participation in athletic competitions. Bodybuilder Janae Croc — born Matthew Kroczaleski — came out as transgender and genderfluid in 2015 and uses female pronouns. Four years later, Kroczaleski announced plans to return to competitive bodybuilding, but only in the men’s category. In 2020, ABC News profiled female-to-male transgender bodybuilder Mason Caminiti, who also competes against men.