Model Invited to Speak About Disabilities at Fashion Show Couldn't Because There Was No Wheelchair Ramp

Disabled model Chelsey Jay says she was humiliated and outraged when she arrived at a fashion show – where she was to speak about the lack of disabled models in the fashion industry – only to discover the podium had no wheelchair ramp.

Jay, who uses a wheelchair because she has a rare disorder that causes her to faint when she stands up, was not able to give her speech at the popular Clothes Show Live in Britain.

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The 24-year-old woman from Essex said in Twitter postings that she had been talking with the program’s staff for a year about the show’s lack of disabled models and had been invited to speak at a seminar on Tuesday.

“They started seminar without me (10 mins early) and the stage was unaccessible, (sic) I’m so humiliated,” she posted.

Jay campaigns with Models of Diversity, a fashion industry group advocating the use of handicapped models.

On Thursday, the Clothes Show issued a public apology, saying its staff “invited Chelsey Jay to this year’s event as a guest, and due to genuine human error the access that she required to take part in our seminar was not made available on time.”

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Jay said she “felt sick” when she saw that the podium was unreachable for her. “I couldn’t believe it,” she wrote on Twitter. “I couldn’t believe it. I am so humiliated and feel like a fool,” she posted.

“The fact that I was there to talk about disability inclusion in fashion, at a fashion event that excluded me, is laughable, but it’s not a joke, it’s real life and a reality to so many disabled people every single day,” she said.

Jay suffers from Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, a disorder that causes heart rates to drastically increase when a person stands upright, causing dizziness, fainting, nausea and other symptoms.

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