OK, let's get right into it: Anna O’Brien is a 33-year-old, NYC-based lifestyle blogger and founder of the site Glitter and Lazers. On Tuesday, she claims she was in Vegas shooting a swim lookbook in the lobby an undisclosed hotel after receiving permission and confirmation from said hotel's PR team. Things went south from there.

According to Yahoo, Anna says she was allowed to shoot anywhere but the casino floor, so she proceeded to pose for her first look — a bikini — in the grandly decorated entry. But after she had taken just a few shots with her professional photographer, she claims a security guard came and told her to put something over her suit.

"He told me to cover up, that I needed to put clothes on because I wasn’t allowed to be in a swimsuit," she told Yahoo. "I tried talking to him but he wouldn’t listen." Here's what she was wearing, BTW:

Instagram

Frustrated, Anna and her photographer headed back up to her room, put on a one-piece suit, and tried again.

Then: “We were shooting in a different part of the lobby and another guard approached us and told us to stop,” she said. “I showed him the emails from the PR team but it didn’t make a difference. I didn’t like the assumption that I was lying about having permission. What did I do to indicate that I wasn’t worthy of trust and respect?”

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Anna thinks it was about more than just the fact that she was wearing a swimsuit in the lobby. "Other women were walking around with as much coverage as me and no one said anything to them," she said. "I don’t want to think the worst of people but in cases like these, I can’t help but wonder."

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She got a great photo out of the whole situation anyway, which she posted to her Insta feed on Wednesday, along with this powerful caption:

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I find it ironic that I’ve taken photos in swimsuits all over the world and the one place I was told to cover up was Las Vegas. Sure, thin girls in thongs and pasties are A OK but a plus girl in a full coverage suit, trying to take an epic editorial shot- now that’s just too much. Jokes on them though, I’d already gotten the perfect photo. They can’t erase this happened. I’m learning as I push myself to do more editorial type concepts, the push back is greater. But that’s why I push. It’s more than just a girl in the city of sin in a bikini, It’s a statement. We will be seen. We’re not hiding anymore. And we’re going to wear whatever we want, wherever we want. Not just in Vegas. EVERYWHERE. Change is coming; the question is are you going to stand in the way or help us push through?

UPDATE 4/13: The hotel in question has provided a statement about this event to Cosmopoiltan.com:

All guests wearing bathing suits inside our lobby and casino are asked to cover up.

Additionally, Ms. O’Brien never shared with the PR team that she intended to take photos in the lobby in her bathing suit.

Had we understood her intent additional clearances to take the photos would have been required and, if permitted, we would have had a PR team member present to staff.

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Rachel Torgerson I'm Cosmopolitan's fashion editor—you can follow me on Instagram at @racheltorgs

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