What was supposed to be a celebratory trip to the nail salon turned into somewhat of a nightmare for a 10-year-old cancer survivor in the Washington D.C. area.
WJLA-TV reported Iliana Bellard and her mother had gone to get their nails done after they recently learned her cancer was in remission.
But things took a turn for the worse when a trio of nail technicians began mocking her appearance.
“They called me a boy,” Iliana told the news station. “I was embarrassed a little bit.”
Bellard’s mother explained to the employees that her nails were brittle and her hair was short because she had just finished chemotherapy.
“She says, ‘It looks like a boy is getting her nails done, everybody’s going to think it’s a boy getting his nails done,’” Elizabeth Bellard said. “And they started laughing. And she says, ‘I just can’t get over that she looks like a boy,’ and they just kept laughing about it.”
A social media post about the visit soon went viral, prompting the owners to release a statement, which read in part:
“We do not now, or ever support any of our employees making comments to any of our amazing clients. We value each and every one who walks into our spa. We deeply apologize that this has happened.”
They said one employee was fired and two others will undergo sensitivity training.
