Popular Peloton instructor and influencer Kendall Toole recently spoke out about her Christian faith, responding to a critic who took issue with Toole wearing a cross necklace and said that Toole was “getting preachy.”
Toole, who often wears the necklace in her classes, said she wanted to be open about her beliefs. “I’m actually very proud of my faith,” she said. She acknowledged that she used to shy away from speaking about her faith publicly and had been concerned about the pushback. But she is now being more open and encouraging others to be as well.
“It’s not only ok but beautiful to be open about your beliefs and spiritual practices while ALSO LOVING AND RESPECTFUL of others beliefs as well,” she wrote in a recent Instagram post.
Toole, also a mental health advocate, has more than 900,000 followers on Instagram. She’s known for finishing her Peloton cycling classes with her signature motto inspired by the advice of her father: “They can knock you down, but they can’t knock you out.”
Defending her faith in the Instagram post, Toole started with an apology on behalf of other Christians who may have been hurt or judged by others. “Oftentimes, myself included, people have used religion and often Christianity to condone their judgmental and hateful actions as a way to promote their own identities and egos. But that’s not what the core of Christianity is, in fact it’s very much the opposite,” she wrote.
“Christianity is not something that’s made to make you feel superior to anyone else,” she said in a video. “In fact, my faith humbles me consistently, and I like that. It makes me empathetic towards other people, it makes me recognize the beauty of life and my existence, but it also doesn’t mean that I’m going to hate on somebody else or think that I’m above somebody else.”
Toole said she has friends from different religions and she’s attended services with her Jewish, Hindu and Muslim friends.
“I think that’s all beautiful — I don’t think I’m above or below anybody else,” she said, adding that she is simply using her platform to share what’s working for her life. Toole’s followers rallied to support her, and one commenter even asked if Peloton would have a Christian music ride.
Toole has been open about being diagnosed with compulsive obsessive disorder when she was 10 years old, surviving a suicide attempt, and living with anxiety and depression, according to “Today.”
“If it doesn’t work for you … you have a right to your own opinion,” Toole said in the video. “I will still continually think you are valuable and worthy even if I don’t agree with your opinion.”