Earlier this month, an anonymous woman went viral on Twitter after being filmed by other passengers while on a flight from New York to Dallas.
The saga began when Twitter user Rosey Blair (@roseybeeme) posted a long thread about a woman she had swapped seats with on the plane journey. "Last night on a flight home, my boyfriend and I asked a woman to switch seats with me so we could sit together," it began. "We made a joke that maybe her new seat partner would be the love of her life and well, now I present you with this thread."
The subsequent tweets included pictures of the woman and her new seatmate, along with personal details from their overheard conversation. Blair even followed the pair after baggage claim in order to take more photos of the two together - completely unbeknownst to them, of course.
After mass media attention, the story went viral - but not everyone saw the "romantic" side of it. After all, Blair had essentially spied on two people without their knowledge or consent, documented their conversations for thousands of strangers to see, and speculated about the nature of their relationship with absolutely no proof about what was going on in front of her.
And now, the woman who was dubbed 'Pretty Plane Girl' and 'Plane Bae' has come forward to share her side of the story.
In a statement given via her lawyer to Business Insider, the subject of the viral story began by saying:
"I am a young professional woman. On July 2, I took a commercial flight from New York to Dallas. Without my knowledge or consent, other passengers photographed me and recorded my conversation with a seatmate. They posted images and recordings to social media, and speculated unfairly about my private conduct."
She then went on to explain that - contrary to what many might have thought - the Twitter thread was not just a harmless bit of fun, and that she had faced real-life consequences as a result of the story getting so much coverage.
"Since then, my personal information has been widely distributed online," she explained. "Strangers publicly discussed my private life based on patently false information. I have been doxxed, shamed, insulted and harassed. Voyeurs have come looking for me online and in the real world."
She continued:
"I did not ask for and do not seek attention. #PlaneBae is not a romance – it is a digital-age cautionary tale about privacy, identity, ethics and consent.
"Please continue to respect my privacy, and my desire to remain anonymous."
This followed a statement from Blair earlier this week in which she apologised for her actions.
The man in the story turned out to be Euan Holden, a former football player. Originally, he did not see a problem with the thread, and actually publicly identified himself as the man from the story. However, he did later come forward to "positives [and] negatives" of the experience.
Ultimately, what was intended as a bit of Twitter banter eventually triggered some very serious consequences for someone who had no idea that she was being used for the sake of five minutes of internet fame. Obviously, Blair had no intention of causing such harm - but the outcome of this saga should serve as a lesson to all that social media is not always a safe place for discussions like this, and that other people's privacy should always be respected.
