Joey Swoll, the fitness icon known for his ironclad physique and ability to inspire millions of fans, shared a harrowing personal revelation online in a now-deleted post.

In a raw and unfiltered Instagram Story that was visible on April 7, Joey disclosed an incident where he said he became the victim of sexual assault by a woman, highlighting the often ignored reality that men, too, can be prey to such violations. The Instagram Story, however, remained up only for a short period and was later deleted.

Joey Swoll posted an Instagram Story narrating an incident where he said he was sexually assaulted by a woman

Image credits: Joey Swoll

“Last week, I went to meet some friends out at a local bar in Costa Mesa. The bar was packed shoulder to shoulder. Trying to get through the crowd to my friends, I walked passed [sic] a group of young women. Not paying attention, I felt someone grab my chest,” the message said.

“Thinking WTF I looked over to see one of the young women grabbing me saying “Nice muscles, but how big’s your d*ck?” he went on to say. “Before I could even say a word to her she reached down and grabbed my crotch. I froze and just stared at her. I was literally speechless. I didn’t know what to do. If that was a man I would have immediately hit him and defended myself, but I would never hit a woman.”

The fitness guru said his friends laughed the incident off when he shared the experience with them

Image credits: Joey Swoll

Joey said he was “completely shocked” over the alleged sexual assault incident, but his friends laughed it off and dismissed it when he attempted to share the trauma with them.

“Completely shocked I just kept on pushing my way through people. I thought to myself, I should call the cops and have her arrested, but in all honesty, they would just laugh and not believe me, a 230 lbs guy with muscles, was sexually assaulted by a 110 lbs woman? When I got to my friends (guys and girls) I told them what happened and they all just laughed and dismissed it,” he concluded.

No mention of the incident was made in Joey’s later posts or Instagram Stories. The fitness icon has also not made a public acknowledgment of the incident.

Although the post was up on the public platform for only a brief period, the message still underscored the need to challenge the stigma surrounding male victims of sexual assault and the importance of creating safe spaces for all victims to seek support without judgment.

Joey eventually deleted the Instagram Story and has not addressed the alleged sexual assault incident since

Image credits: Joey Swoll

Almost one-fourth of men in the U.S. reported experiencing some form of contact sexual violence, according to CDC. Moreover, most victims faced their first experience of intimate partner violence, sexual violence or stalking before they turned 25.

“There is a lack of specialist services for male victim-survivors and similarly there is a lack of specialist services for women who use violence,” Helen Consta, senior manager of family violence and victims assistance services at Windermere in Australia, told ABC News Australia.

She also noted how men may feel “shame” when it comes to talk about their experiences when compared to women.

“How often do I encounter men who are victims of domestic violence? Not as often as women. But of the men who do come forward, coercive control is often one of the presenting factors,” she told the outlet. “They’re often not terrorized in terms of being physically in fear of their life. But they certainly experience mental health impacts, feelings of hopelessness and shame — particularly about talking about it … and so they can feel weak, ineffectual.”

Elise Stephens, who works with an agency working with male victims, said it’s time society looks past preconceived notions about what a victim is meant to look like.

“Everyone is so caught up in the idea that women are always the primary victim and men are the aggressor — we get so fixated on which person did what to whom, but forget to look at the bigger picture, and how we can help people,” Elise told the outlet.

Abuse is “not about gender as such, it’s about assessing the victim who comes through, their family as a whole. What do they want and need, how can we help them … have respectful relationships?” she added.

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