An airline has responded to a woman who body-shamed two of her fellow passengers and branded them "too fat to be on a plane".
On October 11, YouTuber and political commentator Dr. Sydney Watson took to Twitter to reveal that she was experience some personal discomfort while on an American Airlines flight.
"I am currently - literally - WEDGED between two OBESE people on my flight," Watson wrote. "This is absolutely NOT acceptable or okay. If fat people want to be fat, fine. But it is something else entirely when I'm stuck between you, with your arm rolls on my body, for 3 hours."
Watson even went as far as to share several images showing different body parts of the passengers sat either side of her.
In an attempt to justify her "mean" comments, Watson added in another tweet: "I don't care if this is mean. My entire body is currently being touched against my wishes. I can't even put the arm rests down on either side because there's no f***ing room.
"I'm sick of acting like fatness to this extent is normal. Let me assure you, it is not."
Watson added in a follow-up tweet: "If you need a seat belt extender, you are TOO FAT TO BE ON A PLANE. Buy two seats or don't fly."
She also claims that the two passengers were brother and sister, and that she allegedly asked the man if he would like to swap sweats, which he declined.
Although there was some support for Watson's comments, others were more critical, with one Twitter user responding: "Why you not pick the window or aisle seat? Choosing the middle seat is like playing Russian roulette, you knew the risks."
And a second added that the other passengers are definitely not to blame, but that the comfort of passengers is down to the airline: "Just so we're clear, the problem is not these people, the problem is airlines that are jamming in 6 seats in a space meant for 4."
Highlighting the importance of the "cruel"
comments, another added: "I can understand your discomfort. Your words are mean and offensive, not only to these 2 siblings but anyone large. It's unnecessary and detracts from the actual issue. Shaming people over their weight is just cruel. The inner shame we feel is cruelty enough, trust me."
After the trolling tweets went viral on the social media platform, American Airlines shared a very clear response to Watson, which read: "Our passengers come in all different sizes and shapes. We're sorry you were uncomfortable on your flight."
Additionally, in a second tweet, American Airlines added: "We offer a variety of seat sizes and styles, so our customers can select what works best for them."
However, Watson was clearly unhappy with the reply, as she tweeted in response: "This is really their official reply to me being sandwiched between two obese humans. Holy s**t. So, I'm expected to have only a quarter of a seat when I fly?"
As Watson's comments continued to circulate and her story was picked up by major news outlets, the YouTuber started to receive more and more critical comments from social media users. However, she appears to be undeterred by this, as she tweeted: "So we are clear -
"I stand by everything I said. And have come to find out what happened to me went against American Airlines own policies regarding overweight passengers. I'd like some reparations pls."
Finally, she added: "I'm totally fine with being in the news for fat shaming."
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