Teen Asks If He's A 'Bad Person' After Getting Kicked Off A Flight Over His Comments About An 'Obese Man' Taking Up Space Beside Him
The teenage boy complained about the passenger's weight right in front of his face.
Parilov / Shutterstock, Kebs Visuals / Pexels A teenage boy has sparked criticism after making a scene about a man sitting next to him while on a flight.
Posting to the subreddit "r/AmItheA--hole" (AITA) — a forum where users try to figure out if they were wrong or not in an argument that has been bothering them — he wrote that while on a connecting flight traveling back home, he was aggravated to find that the man sitting next to him was plus size.
The teen was kicked off his flight after making rude comments about an 'obese man' sitting next to him.
In his Reddit post, the 18-year-old explained that upon boarding a 12-hour flight while on his way back to his home country, he was immediately aggrieved that he was sitting next to a plus-size man.
"I am not a small guy myself. I have quite broad shoulders and am around 190 cm [six foot], so a full seat would already have been uncomfortable," he wrote.
Deciding to tell the flight attendant about his predicament, his mood dampened even further after he was told the flight was full, and the man had rightfully paid for his seat, so she wasn't going to ask him to move.
Undeterred, the teen continued to berate the flight attendant about how his seat was still considered "available" if "it was being used for someone's literal rolls." He also pointed out that being a non-American airline, he was unconvinced the entire plane was booked since that usually doesn't happen.
He then continued to bash the airline in front of an unimpressed flight attendant, accusing the entire company of going downhill within the last several years.
After listening to his complaints, the flight attendant called him "rude," and doubled down on the decision to kick him off the flight entirely. "She reassured me I’d be compensated for this trouble as I told her I wasn’t traveling for vacation."
The man who was sitting next to him overheard the entire debacle and called the teenage boy "fatphobic" for all the extremely out-of-pocket comments made about his weight, while other plane passengers nearby gave the young boy dirty looks for his behavior.
"I know they think I’m a bad person for this, but on the other hand, I’m having to pay for the lack of discipline of another person as well as this sh-ty airline’s booking system," he complained.
After being kicked off the flight, the airline staff proceeded to send a letter of complaint that he was being "rude to other passengers and staff." Though the teenager was able to appeal the complaint and have the temporary ban lifted, so he was able to fly home on another flight the next day.
He concluded his post by adamantly declaring that he wasn't trying to be an a-hole, but evidently, that sentiment wasn't shared with other Reddit users.
The teen is perhaps misinformed about the reality and plight of plus-sized people who are travelling. A plus-sized travel blogger named Jaelyn who uses her TikTok platform to break some of the stigmas insists that lack of space and anxiety about taking up space is a major deterrent for plus-size people. But, as Jaelynn often notes online, it's not fair that bigger people have to feel embarrassed about taking up space.
Most people agreed that he was in the wrong and deserved to be kicked off his flight for his fatphobic behavior.
"I honestly cannot fathom what would possess you to have this conversation in front of that guy," one user wrote.
Another user pointed out that referring to the plane passenger as an "obese man," showed that he didn't care about the person's feelings at all.
"What you did is horrifyingly rude and disrespectful and the fact that you were thrown off the plane should’ve been enough to let you know that."
A third user chimed in, "I can understand being frustrated at feeling cramped on an airplane seat but you get what you pay for, fly business class if you want more room. The "obese person" paid the same fare you did, and is equally entitled to that seat as you are."
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics.