A woman named Gabrielle Gibson claimed in a Facebook post that she had been "kicked out" of a mall in Mobile, Alabama, because of her outfit.
According to Gibson's now-viral post, two mall officers were "extremely rude and completely unprofessional" toward her and threatened to call the police if she didn't leave.
In a statement given to WKRG-TV, The Shoppes at Bel Air said the mall places "a high degree of importance on maintaining a family-friendly shopping environment."
The shopping center also requires all customers to "dress in a manner that reflects" its "code of conduct," and violators of this policy "will be asked to change or leave the premises."
A woman who was shopping at The Shoppes at Bel Air (formerly Bel Air Mall) in Mobile, Alabama, claims she was "kicked out" of the mall on Wednesday because of her outfit.
In a Facebook post, Gabrielle Gibson claimed she was approached by two "extremely rude and completely unprofessional" security officers who "harassed" her and threatened to call the police if she didn't leave the mall. She also shared two photos of what she says she wore to the shopping center that day: a striped top, high-waisted denim shorts, and sandals.
According to Gibson's post, one security officer told her he was "looking at [her] a-- cheeks," which he said "was a problem." Gibson says she responded by telling the two officers that she has "bigger thighs" and could not help it if her shorts "[rode] up a bit."
The shopper also claims that "everyone" was wearing "short shorties" at the mall that day because it was so hot. "I don't know why I was pinpointed," Gibson wrote. "I'm just disgusted with the behavior of all these people. I was just having a good time trying to look around."
"Apparently grown men couldn't contain themselves so I [got] kicked out," Gibson said.
Gibson's account of the alleged incident has since gone viral. In the comments section of her Facebook post, many have claimed that they frequently see people shopping at The Shoppes at Bel Air wearing similar, if not more revealing, attire.
"I've literally worn much worse to this same mall," one Facebook user wrote. "I'm sorry you had to deal with this."
"Wow! I've seen 100 times worse than this at this mall!" another person commented. "Just wow! Your outfit isn't bad at all actually!"
"There is NOTHING wrong with what you are wearing!" someone else said. "I would have told [the security officers] to call the police. You did absolutely nothing wrong."
In a statement to WKRG-TV, The Shoppes at Bel Air stood by its dress code policy. The statement said the mall places a "high degree of importance" on "maintaining a family-friendly shopping environment." As such, the shopping center's "policy requires all of [its] customers to dress in a manner that reflects [its] code of conduct."
"Anyone who violates this policy will be asked to change or to leave the premises," the statement concluded.
Three days after Gibson shared her account of the incident, some people showed up to The Shoppes at Bel Air on Saturday to protest the mall's policy, NBC affiliate WPMI reported. According to WPMI, participants in the protest, who wore shorts, said they believed "women [were] being oversexualized for wearing the same items the mall sells."
"Sexual harassment happens so often," Gibson later wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. The shopper, who revealed that many people had been reaching out to tell her "their stories," continued: "I just want everyone to know to keep your heads up and don't let anyone make you feel uncomfortable."
Representatives for Gibson and The Shoppes at Bel Air did not immediately reply to INSIDER's requests for comment.