The Lululemon controversy over 'certain customers' comment, explained

Athletic apparel company, Lululemon, is facing backlash after founder and former CEO, Chip Wilson's recent comments that "certain customers" should be discouraged from shopping at its stores.

In a new interview with Forbes, the 68-year-old disparaged the retailer's advertising, calling the models in Lululemon's ads "unhealthy," "sickly" and "not inspirational," saying that it's important to be clear that "you don't want certain customers coming in."

It isn't the first time that Wilson (who hasn't been affiliated with the company since 2015) has faced criticism for his remarks about who's best-suited to wear Lululemon's high-end athleisure — and who isn't.

In 2013, the founder came under fire after saying that "some women's bodies just actually don't work" in Lululemon's yoga pants during an interview on the Bloomberg show "Street Smart," drawing ire and outrage from many of Lululemon's customers.

Wilson's latest comments, in which he suggests that Lululemon is "trying to become like the Gap" and expresses his distaste over what he calls Lululemon's "whole diversity and inclusion thing," have once again stirred up controversy and are leading some to call for a boycott of the brand.

Here’s what to know about the controversy surrounding Wilson, as well as what Lululemon had to say to TODAY.com in response to the backlash.

Who is Chip Wilson?

Born in California, Wilson spent his childhood in Calgary, Alberta before relocating to Alaska where, according to his website, the entrepreneur worked on the Alaskan Pipeline. Wilson then received his BA in economics and worked as an economist while establishing his first company, Westbeach, a skate, snowboard and surf shop.

After selling the business in 1997, Wilson founded Lululemon. According to his memoir "The Story of lululemon," Wilson was inspired to start the company by his love of yoga and the belief he could "create a perfect athletic garment for women."

Starting with yoga pants, Wilson developed a line of apparel that would become coined as "athleisure," although the founder writes in his book that it's a term he doesn't like.

"To me, athleisure denotes a non-athletic, smoking, Diet Coke-drinking people in a New Jersey shopping mall wearing velour tracksuits — too much leisure, too little athletics."

Wilson took his upscale athletic clothing line to the marketplace, opening his first store in March of 1999. Eight years and multiple franchises later, the company went public in July of 2007 raising more than $300 million, according to Reuters.

The founder served as CEO until Lululemon went public, then became chairman until 2013 when, according to Wilson's website, he "lost control of the culture and product development." He continues by saying that "at odds with a board of directors who did not want to invest in the future," he left the company.

Today Lululemon operates more than 600 stores globally and is valued at more than $60 billion.

What did Chip Wilson say about 'certain customers?'

Though Wilson left Lululemon more than a decade ago, according to Forbes, the founder still has feelings about the direction the brand has taken since his departure.

In the new interview, Forbes reports that Wilson isn't a fan of Lululemon's "whole diversity and inclusion thing." The article also cited the former CEO's apparent distaste for the models in the company's current ads, quoting him as saying that they appear "unhealthy," "sickly" and "not inspirational."

Wilson further compared Lululemon to clothing retailer, Gap, in the article, commenting that the brand is attempting to become "everything to everybody."

"And I think the definition of a brand is that you're not everything to everybody...You've got to be clear that you don't want certain customers coming in," Wilson is quoted as saying in Forbes.

Wilson's controversial 2013 comments

Wilson's recent remarks to Forbes are not the first to inspire backlash. In 2013, Lululemon's founder appeared on the Bloomberg show "Street Smart," in which the entrepreneur addressed problems with the brand's yoga pants after claims that the fabric suffered from excessive pilling along with being sheer enough to see through.

When asked about the defect, Wilson replied, "The thing is is that women will wear seat belts that don't work or they'll wear a purse that doesn't work and, quite frankly, some women's bodies just actually don't work for it."

In the interview the former CEO also said that the problem was attributable to "the rubbing through the thighs, how much pressure is there," leading many to conclude he was fat-shaming wearers of the pants whose thighs were wide enough to rub together.

The comments made headlines and sparked outrage among women and Lululemon customers alike, leading to calls to boycott the company and its apparel.

According to a 2013 NBC article on the incident, Wilson issued an apology shortly after the controversial interview in a video that has since been removed, with the embattled CEO reportedly apologizing for the comments, but only to his employees and not offended customers.

"I’m sad. I’m really sad," the NBC article quotes Wilson as saying. "I’m sad for the repercussions of my actions. I’m sad for the people at Lululemon who I care so much about, that have really had to face the brunt of my actions. I take responsibility for all that has occurred and the impact it has had on you."

Shortly after the controversy, Wilson and Lululemon parted ways.

Lululemon responds to Wilson's comments

Wilson's latest remarks in Forbes have once again ignited a firestorm and returned Lululemon to the headlines. TODAY.com reached out to Lululemon for comment and a spokesperson for the retailer responded:

“Chip Wilson does not speak for lululemon, and his comments do not reflect our company views or beliefs. Chip has not been involved with the company since his resignation from the board in 2015 and we are a very different company today.

lululemon is committed to creating and fostering an inclusive, diverse, and welcoming environment throughout our organization and across our communities. We have made considerable progress since launching our Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Action (IDEA) function, and we are proud of the goals we have achieved.

We also recognize that becoming a more diverse and inclusive organization takes time and is only possible through the sustained efforts of our leaders and our people. We remain steadfast in our commitment to become a more inclusive and diverse company.”

Chip Wilson was unable to be reached for comment.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com