Sweaty Betty CEO 'liked hateful posts about me'
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Angela Johnston
North East and Cumbria
BBC
Georgina Cox claims comments mocking her were liked by Sweaty Betty's CEO on Instagram
A personal trainer, locked in a legal dispute with a women's sportswear brand, has claimed its CEO "liked hateful comments" about her on social media posts.
Georgina Cox, from Middlesbrough, has taken action against Sweaty Betty in a row over its use of the "Wear the Damn Shorts" slogan, which Cox claimed she posted in 2020 before it went viral.
She said she was contacted by a fellow Instagram user who had noticed likes allegedly from the account of global brand president Melissa Mullen, which she called "truly shocking". Mullen's Instagram account is no longer visible online.
A spokesperson for Sweaty Betty said "it cannot comment as the claims relate to an unresolved legal dispute".
The company initially credited Cox as part of a marketing campaign in 2023, but her name was later dropped.
Last year, she revealed the brand had offered her a
settlement of £4,000 over the disputed slogan
if she agreed not to further challenge the firm's use of it and agreed to keep the deal confidential.
Georgina Cox
The personal trainer said she originally posted the image in 2020, featuring the words "Wear the Damn Shorts", to help inspire her younger sister
She posted her feelings on Instagram in November and the post attracted a mixture of positive and negative reactions, including comments such as: "Genuinely can't tell if this is a skit?", "Someone will comment: justice for cry baby", and "Anyone else have to turn off the sound to read the subtitles?"
Cox claimed some "hateful comments" directed towards her were liked by Mullen's account.
"It is truly shocking that a CEO would take part in playground bullying - it's mean girl behaviour," she said.
"It's heartbreaking, especially as so many of these comments are mocking me and my mental health.
"I've talked openly about depression and anxiety, the physical and mental impact this has had on me and to know, the whole time I've been struggling, the CEO has been liking hate comments directed towards me."
Cox said she has been left hurt by likes on negative social media comments, while in a legal dispute with the sportswear company
Cox said she believed she was "100% sure" it was Mullen's account.
"The Instagram account she was using before she changed her profile had mutual friends with people who worked with Sweaty Betty," she said.
A Sweaty Betty spokesperson said: "This relates to an unresolved legal dispute between Ms Cox and Sweaty Betty, which has been running since May 2025. We cannot comment further at this time."
Georgina Cox works across Teesside as a personal trainer
On its website, Sweaty Betty said it was on a "global mission to empower women" through fitness.
Cox said: "My experience of their sisterhood and empowerment has been to try to buy me silence, to threaten me and call me 'bitter' in legal documents and now the CEO is liking hateful comments directed towards me.
"That is not a sisterhood I would ever want to be part of."
Cox said she was paid £3,500 by Sweaty Betty to promote the Wear the Damn Shorts campaign on social media posts in 2023. Then she was offered, but did not accept, a settlement of £4,000 by the company if she agreed not to further challenge the firm's use of it and agreed to keep the deal confidential.
Since then, she said she has had no further contact or apology from Sweaty Betty's lawyers.
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