Video shows woman kicked off plane for fat-shaming passengers
A video has gone viral showing an airline passenger fat-shaming the two people sitting next to her before she was kicked off the plane, CBS New York reports. It shows a blond woman sitting in the middle seat of a United Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Newark on January 2. She complains loudly on her cellphone, saying the passengers on her right and left are overweight and she can't take it.
"I don't know how I'm going to do this for the next four hours. This is just impossible, 'cause they're squishing me," the woman said.
"I can't breathe I'm so squished," she said, adding, "At least they'll keep me warm."
Norma Rodgers, a registered nurse from Plainfield, New Jersey, who was one of the passengers sitting next to the woman, recorded the comments on her cellphone and posted it on Facebook. It has since been viewed more than 2 million times.
Rodgers said she couldn't believe how she was treated. "She was verbally abusive. What made her think it was OK to body shame two people?" Rodgers said.
"I wanted to smack her," Rodgers said.
She said things began to escalate, and the remarks about her weight became more and more personal.
"I eat salad. OK?" the woman said.
Finally, Rodgers said she had enough and called out to the flight attendant.
"Excuse me, will you find me another seat? Because I will not be verbally abused by this b**** or anybody else," Rodgers said in the video.
Flight attendants attempted to find the woman another seat, while stunned passengers on the plane admonished her for her behavior.
"What you're doing is so terrible. You should be ashamed of yourself," said a passenger.
"Why don't you sit between those two big pigs?" said the woman.
A witness on the plane told Inside Edition he was so angry he started screaming at the woman.
"You're disgusting," he said. "You're disgusting."
Rodgers said flight attendants ultimately removed the woman from the plane. She said she's pleased with the way United Airlines handled the situation, saying the flight attendants were calm and professional, and helped keep things from escalating further.