Virgin Active apologises after editing model's hearing implant out of ad

Virgin Active has apologised to a deaf model for photoshopping her hearing implant out of an advertisement she featured in.

Simone Botha Welgemoed, 27, was wearing her cochlear implant during a photoshoot for the health club chain’s latest campaign.

When the ad appeared on her social media feeds, the South African dancer and model was “shockingly surprised” to notice the device had been digitally removed.

The Virgin Active ad as it appeared on Facebook.

“It felt like somebody just dropped a bucket of water on me,” she is reported to have said.

Welgemoed was born profoundly deaf, and says she became the youngest person to be fitted with a cochlear implant at 22 months old.

“Without my CI I hear nothing at all,” she added.

“I am proudly hearing impaired and was happy to inspire through Virgin Active that people with hearing disabilities also lead and enjoy an active and healthy lifestyle.

“But I guess you don’t think we do. I guess my cochlear implant shamed you so much that you had to edit it out … I’m not OK with that.”

Welgemoed, who is the principal dancer at Bovim Ballet Company in South Africa, received an “immediate” apology from Virgin after drawing their attention to the error.

The company, founded by Richard Branson, also removed the original image and replaced it with an unretouched version.

"We had a good heart-to-heart meeting with her … we will work with Simone around education,” a Virgin spokesperson reportedly said.

"We 100% accept that the action of photo-shopping the image is not in line with our values as a business, nor in keeping with the welcome we extend to everyone.”

Welgemoed shared the restored advert on Instagram, saying she could now proudly represent the brand.

"Together we can raise the awareness that shows the beauty in imperfection. I look forward to our future projects," she captioned the image.