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03rd Jul 2017

A blogger was body-shamed on a flight and filmed the whole thing

She posted the exchange to her Facebook account.

Niamh Maher

A plus sized model confronted the man sitting next to her on a flight after she saw the cruel text messages he was sending.

Natalie Hage was flying to Los Angeles on an American Airlines flight for a fashion shoot when the man next to her began texting someone about her size. Natalie was so mortified by what was happening she took pictures of the text messages as she could clearly see them, she then took to her Instagram account to explain, you can see the full post below:

“As soon as I sat down, the gentleman on my left began LOUDLY huffing, sighing, and readjusting himself in his seat. I see him furiously texting and then purposefully turning the phone away from me. so, naturally, next time he texts, I take a look. The texts were about me and I’m almost positive he took photos of me. Not only were the texts about me, but they were really mean and ugly, with even the recipient named ‘linda’ chiming back with shaming retorts…someone who can’t even see the situation. if you can’t read the texts, it says ‘hopefully she didn’t have anyMexicann food’ and his response is ‘I think she ate a Mexican’. Then he proceeds to say he’s leaving a ‘neck mark on the window’ because he’s so smashed against the wall.”

 

i’m shaking right now. i’m on a flight to LA right now on @americanair. i paid almost $70 extra for this seat i’m in because i know i need a little extra leg room. i’m extremely flight anxious but there were only middle seats available so i had to take what i could get. as soon as i sat down, the gentleman on my left began LOUDLY huffing, sighing, and readjusting himself in his seat. i see him furiously texting and then purposefully turning the phone away from me. so, naturally next time he texts, i take a look. the texts were about me and i’m almost positive he took photos of me. not only were the texts about me, but they were really mean and ugly, with even the recipient named ‘linda’ chiming back with shaming retorts…someone who can’t even see the situation. if you can’t read the texts, it says ‘hopefully she didn’t have any mexican food’ and his response is ‘i think she ate a mexican’. then he proceeds to say he’s leaving a ‘neck mark on the window’ because he’s so smashed against the wall. from the photos, you can see i’m not in his space. he’s even taken over both arm rests on purpose, coming to my space and digging his elbows into my side…which is in my seat. his next text to her was ‘if the news reports a DFW airbus a321 leaving the runway without rotating, that would be my flight.’ another i see later? ‘if these seats don’t hold, it’s not going to matter.’ and that’s just a few of them. there were several more. i didn’t do anything to him. i’m in my seat, completely (see photos). i am crumpled into a ball trying to not bother. i’m just so upset. i asked the other man to my right if he’d switch me and told him what the man was saying about me and he said laughed and refused. that’s fine, it’s not his issue. this is a fat person’s daily reality and not just on a plane. this is on a bus, standing in line at the grocery store, at a concert, on the internet. you can be completely in your own space, not bothering anyone, and people will still fuck with you and try to hurt you. all you can do is know you haven’t done anything wrong just by existing and to move on. this just makes me a mixture of enraged and super sad.

A post shared by natalie. (@nataliemeansnice) on

Later in the flight, the model confronted the man, filmed it, and posted the full video to her Facebook. At first, the man denied the accusations but when Natalie indicated she had proof, he relented and apologised saying he had been drinking before the flight.

 

Speaking of the incident Natalie said ‘ This is a fat person’s daily reality and not just on a plane’.

 

florals for spring…groundbreaking.

A post shared by natalie. (@nataliemeansnice) on

Fair play Natalie.