Even on a flight to paradise, the cruelty of fatphobia is weighting in the wings.
Ashlyn, a Big Apple-based influencer, was met with severely unfriendly vibes while traversing the friendly skies, targeted by elderly body-shamers who secretly snapped her picture and texted it to strangers in outrage over being seated next to the “only fat person on the flight.”
“I just got fat shamed on a Delta flight back to Puerto Rico,” said Ashlyn, a curvy content creator, to her more than 20,000 video viewers.
“So many plus-size women are experiencing just the most disgusting discrimination while flying,” she groaned, noting that the incident occurred on her birthday. “I just experienced it for the first time, and I’m gagged.”
Representatives for Delta Airlines told The Post, “Delta does not discriminate or condone discrimination of any person or group for any reason. We are privileged to serve thousands of customers every day and are committed to treating everyone fairly and equally. We apologize to this customer for their experience, and our Customer Care team looks into all claims and responds accordingly.”
Ashlyn explained she’d boarded the plane, took her Delta Comfort seat — upgraded economy accommodations, offering extra legroom and dedicated overhead bin space — and prepared for takeoff.
The New Yorker had barely noticed the husband and wife couple, both approximately age 70, seated alongside her in the row.
But after catching an innocent glimpse at their cell phones, each allegedly programmed with large-font text and magnified visibility, Ashlyn discovered she had become the unwitting star of the pair’s mean-spirited messaging.
“She literally said, ‘There’s only one fat person on the flight, and guess who she’s sitting next to,’” recalled the offended flyer, noting that the twosome had been texting about her in Spanish.
“Of course I see laughing emojis, [but] that didn’t even bother me,” Ashlyn insisted. “It was the fact that they took a picture of me. I literally see me, in my polka dot pants, chilling on her phone.”
Instantly, I said, ‘Hell no!’ It’s one thing to talk about people, but to record them or take pictures…[violates] privacy and respect,” she said. “You’re deliberately taking a picture of me to disrespect me, and it’s cruel.”
Unfortunately, Ashlyn isn’t alone.
Heavyset travelers are routinely force-fed flak from fatphobics who overtly criticize, ostracize and dehumanize others due to size.
Erika, a full-figured sightseer, recently admonished Southwest Airlines after being publicly humiliated by a gate agent who demanded she pay extra per its “Customers of Size” policy. The company’s controversial rule requires overweight passengers to “purchase an additional seat and pay any applicable seat fee at the airport (at the applicable fare available on the day of travel).”
Vanessa, a tripper flying from Tampa to NYC, separately faced similar body-shaming from a disgruntled stranger who angrily texted his buddies about being seated beside a “HUGE woman” at 30,000 feet.
“I saw [the text because] I have eyes, and now I feel like a prisoner for the next [two] hours,” a sobbing Vanessa wrote on TikTok.
“I’ve lost 60+ lbs and have actually been feeling really good about myself.”
It seems, however, obesity bullies don’t care how the objects of their ire feel.
Ashlyn, armed with a language translation app, immediately confronted her abusers, saying, “Honey, this is really disrespectful to take pictures of people in public.”
The senior citizens repeatedly denied sneaking Ashlyn’s photo, arguing their innocence to both her and airline staffers, until in-flight bystanders chimed in with video evidence of the couple taking her picture and attempting to delete their texts after being caught in the act.
“It’s giving checkmate, b- -ch!,” chuckled Ashlyn, admitting, however, that the ordeal left her feeling “very self-conscious” for the duration of the flight.
And although she was met with profuse apologies from the cabin crew, Ashlyn ultimately chose to file a formal report.
“They did not even check up on me during this flight,” she said. “I’m going to make a report, and we’re going to get this settled because this is so unacceptable.”
“No matter what size you are, no one should disrespect you.”
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