Woman Says She Was Denied a Massage Because of Her Weight

INSIDE EDITION speaks with a woman who says she was denied a massage after being told she was too fat.

Imagine celebrating a weight-loss milestone, only to be denied a massage because of your weight.

Laura Franks Smith said she went to Natural Healing Center in Aurora, Colorado for a massage and got the shock of her life. She claimed the owner told her she was too fat to get a massage because her weight might break the table.

"I was mortified, horrified, every word you could think of," she said.

Laura stands six foot three inches tall and weighs 250 pounds. She said being denied the massage was a devasting blow because she had just dropped 47 pounds by working out.
    
When Elements Massage, a different massage place, heard what happened, they offered Laura a free spa treatment. The manager said massage tables are built for people of all sizes.

"Massage tables are really sturdy," Shannon Parker of Elements Massage said. In fact, their tables were designed to hold a 500 pound person.

Laura said the treatment over her size is not something she's taking lying down.
 
"It's definitely not ok," she said.

The owner of Natural Healing Center declined an on-camera interview but said she never called Laura fat. Instead, she said she suggested that Laura was too large for a portable massage table and offered to move her to a different room.