Would YOU want to sit next to this man on an airplane (or for that matter, in a movie theater?) We’re siding with Southwest Airlines here. Chubby director Kevin Smith has been griping about being kicked off a flight for not buying two tickets like he usually does. Anyone who’s ever been forced to sit next to an overweight person in coach KNOWS how miserable it is. The seats ARE too small, but normal size people should not be made even MORE uncomfortable by obese seat-mates flopping into their limited personal space. We’re thrilled that Southwest is implementing this rule.
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Sorry Janet, but you totally missed the boat on this one. Read through his twitter account for the real story… Kevin is big, but he’s not that big and was able to easily fit into the seat with the arm rests down. In fact, SW wound up putting him on a later flight (in a single seat) to get him home. I completely agree that sitting next to an oversize person is uncomfortable and the rules in place are necessary, but SW’s enforcement against Kevin Smith was stupid and their PR folks handled it poorly in the aftermath.
Your a huge bitch
He’s a big fatso I’m siding with southwest, he is clearly too morbidly obese for a single southwest seat. He’s repulsive and should lose at least 100lbs asap!
Sorry folks but I happen to agree with Janet. She has a point. Have you ever sat in coach next to a fat person? I did and so did my kids, and it was HELL. Word ‘uncomfortable’ doesn’t cut it… sorry CDRW.
Sorry, as long as you can fit in a seat and put the armrests down, there should be no problem. If you are going to be picking on big people, why not start picking on the kids that misbehave and yell the whole flight? When will it stop?
That has GOT to be the most rediculous outfit since Gaga came along!! How stupid does a guy want to look anyway? Pretty stupid is my guess from this picture!!!
Did they kick him off because he was too wide, or because he was too heavy?
I’ve flown Southwest many times out of Burbank, and I’ve seen them restrict the number of passengers it lets on the plane due to weather conditions.
It usually happens in the summer, though, when you’re trying to get to Vegas for the weekend. And always in the terminal, never by kicking someone off who has already boarded the plane.
That said, those planes aren’t exactly roomy.
“JUDGEMENT DAY” FOR FAT AMERICANS!!
(this message was brough to ya by southwest airlines, THEY SEE IT CLEAR)
Fat people should go to the gym, not the airport. Keep your blubber away from me! Agree 100% Janet!
Couldn’t agree with you more. My most harrowing flight involved an obese woman sitting next to me, taking half my seat and all of hers, and literally wedging me against the window. She then dragged out a briefcase and bruised my arm with her elbow pulling papers out of it. I was grateful it was only a 1-hour flight. She was definitely a two-seat passenger. By the way, I don’t believe the airlines should be rude to larger people. On the contrary, I think the airlines should tell such passengers they need to purchase more space before they get on the plane, possibly as they go through security. Also, now that there are so many obese fliers, the airlines might consider adding a few larger seats in coach for larger passengers to buy for a surcharge, just as they would with extra luggage. Fat passengers could spare themselves last minute embarrassment by purchasing these larger seats. If there are no larger passengers, then smaller folks could pay the surcharge for more room.
Janet I think you went a little to far.
Kevin Smith didn’t do anything wrong and Southwest is an crappy airlines.
They want to cram as many people as possible.
EVEN if an person was as thin as you would still have an problem because of HOW close the seats are together..
GO KEVIN SMITH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Right on Janet! There are many obese people that I truly love, but sitting next to one on an airplane is torture. We had to take a last minute flight last Fall (death in family) & paid full fare for our 3 tix. The plane had 2 rows of 2 seats. My son & I sat together in one row & my poor darling hubby sat across from us next to a woman that must’ve weighed 400 lbs. She had the armrest up and took up her seat & half of his. He had to sit on one hip, leaning into the aisle & had to get up & wait in the galley when the bev cart was going thru. Oh, did I mention she was dressed in nothing but short shorts & a tank top, was unshaved and unwashed. She smelled like a goat, I could smell her across the aisle. When the bloody plane finally landed, my hubby could hardly walk from sitting so long in that position. No one from the airline apologized to him (Alaska Air), nor did the woman, whose attitude was frankly “in your face” about the discomfort she caused him. SW is talking about giving Smith a voucher?!? Wow, my husband got nothing, not even an apology. Alaska Air, take note!
I should mention, the plane was full; nowhere else for my husband to sit. He got lots of sympathy from all the other passengers who could see what he had to go through, but none from the airline. The bottom line is, we paid full price for a seat and got half. Not acceptable. In fact, we will never agree to this kind of treatment again. We’ve always been super-nice, sappy people, but we’re working to become more assertive and aggressive if necessary.
lets see..one time I was stuck sitting next to a thin person..and they STUNK..dear gaud..it was awful…as the hours wore on the skunk became worse…so, ummm…I would like to tell thin people…before you board a plane:
1.use deoderant
2.shower that day..last week or a month ago doesn’t count.
3.make sure your clothes have been washed in this century.
4.the sweat marks under your armpits are not a fashion statement.
Is all of this too much to ask??
This issue should’ve been handled BEFORE he boarded the plane. Yes he is a large man but that doesn’t give the airline the right to embarrass him. Prior to boarding, he should’ve been pulled aside and given the option to purchase another ticket or upgrade to first class. Never should he have been made to feel like less than a human being.
And Janet? Your post is as insensitive as the airline. I can honestly say after reading this and the post about Michael Douglas’s son being involved in a “victimless” crime, I’m through reading your site. I sincerely hope you acquire some class and brains before posting again.
I was put next to someone who put their arm rests down, too. Their fat spilled out around the armrests and into my space. So this idea that you can put your arm rests down and that makes a difference is pure crap. I agree with Southwest Airlines and I applaud them for enforcing their rule.
way to go janet, left out the IMPORTANT part that he “””bought 2 SEATS””” on the original flight ands then got bumped.
went on standby and they gave him a seat on another flight
It depends if they talk or not. I was recently stuck on a plane behind a huge woman with back boobs clearly visible through a sheer net top. Quite possibly the loveliest woman in the world, but she went on and on and ON about how strong her marriage was,completely ruining the flight for me (currently both post-marriage and anti-marriage).
I’m very thin and fat people on planes scare me. They love sitting next to me.
Obese people do take up more room even with the dividers down. They spill out all over the damn place!
Smith is one of those people whose appearance is deceptive. Judging by the photo posted, he does not seem all that big, but if you see him on video, with other people, you realize what a blob he is. It is as if he has no bones, and when his sits he just expands and expands. I have little sympathy for him on this one. He has admitted he is fat, and is an over-eater. How does he have the time to tweet, with all that munching?
He DID buy two tickets on his original flight (as he has repeatedly said he does regularly) but then wanted to switch to an earlier flight by flying standby. The earlier flight only had one seat. He knows he is a big guy and needs two seats, what would make him think a single seat would work? Because he wanted to get the earlier flight and didn’t care about in impact on his seat mates. I agree larger people must be accommodated with courtesy but it must be a two way street.
Wow, I think this just shows your prejudice. You sound really old fashioned, scratch that, you just sound old.You sound very tasteless and classless.
The airlines need to stop being so greedy, cramming more and more seats onto each plane. I’m old enough to remember when flying was a pleasure, the attendants were friendly, you got an actual meal, drinks, movies were free. Now you are treated like cattle, no butt room, no shoulder room, no leg room, stuffed in the damn flying coffin like sardines. Have they actually looked at Americans? (and other countries too). People are getting larger every year, so they need to take steps to make flying possible for everybody. As for me, I prefer the train, you can stand, walk, lie down, it’s a much more pleasurable trip.
palermo, great post. Agree with you 100%.
Palermo, I remember that time too. You know what made it different? – People who traveled were either relatively well off (even those people in economy) and/or were visiting family abroad. Airline travel was more expensive and so, taken seriously, and all those involved respected the process and eachother. Now every piece of trash can and does get on a plane to vacation, as in, lie on a beach in the day and get drunk and laid at night. There are no heros or victims in the current air-travel issue – just about all involved are dirt-bags.
I agree with Janet. Obesity is such an epidemic, and it is not an entirely victimless crime. Yes, you destroy yourself with heart problems, diabetes, and problems in daily living such as the flying issues seen here, the added cost of all the food you’re over-eating, and the discrimination in work and personal relationships. But you also cause problems for other people with work absenteeism, and accomodations in public conveyances such as planes, trains, busses, and the like. Healthcare and insurance costs are skyrocketing because of the added costs of obesity on society.
Obesity has to be faced like any other addiction, with a 12 step program and the addressing of sugar, flour, and quantity addictions. It becomes the responsibility of the addict to get clean, I think.
I understand what you were trying to say but I wish you had chosen a more sensitive tact when saying it.
I am a thin person and I am saying that the seating on airplanes is far too close as it is. Airline travel in general isn’t something that anyone really looks forward to.
Janet, if you had ever been around obese people, you would know that most will absolutely avoid any situation that will bring attention to their size…if they are on a flight, more than likely it’s because they need to be there.
If you can fit in one seat (and the seat sizes have decreased, as America’s waistlines have grown)then you should pay for two tickets…but the airlines should make that decision before putting anyone on a flight.
Janet, other readers, et al, I don’t doubt that you have been made to feel uncomfortable by having to sit next to an obese person, keep in mind that they aren’t comfortable either…and certainly don’t deserve to be humiliated.
As far as the argument that they deserve it and they should just lose weight…then everyone needs to look at their own lives and figure out what someone would point at them and say they should change immediately…Too much debt? Lose a home to foreclosure? Drinking problem? Drug problem? Lousy parent? We all have our issues…let’s support each other, not judge each other.
I agree with the commenter who said airlines need to become more accomodating. Overweight/obese people are everywhere now and should have the right to travel like everyone else. Perhaps aircraft manufacturers can start adding 1 1/2 size seats to airplanes?
I work in a pharmacy. Every day there are lardasses wheeling up in those motorized chairs to get their medicaid/medicare paid for diabetes meds. Bunch of fat asses spending all our tax dollars with their food stamps and free medicare. Just be glad that most die before the hit 45.
and I diagree with the above post. Fat people DO deserve to be humiliated. Try a little self control. Repulsive.
I agree with KateMae, Vera and Palermo 100%
Anyone who is large should have to pay for two seats…end of story.
Oh Janet you have shown yourself up as being such a bitch!
Fat people should have the right to ride as well as normal size people and this guy buys two tickets..Well he can afford it and it is something that he is used to and has no problem with..Unless he buys his own plane and has it made special for his seating? Rich person can afford it!
Not every one in the world is the same size and they should make the seats alittle bigger and…THAT IS LIFE SOME OF US LIKE TO EAT…IT IS A SIN WE PICK TO BREAK..FOOD AND GETTING ARE FOOD ON AND THIS MAN CAN AFFORD HIS OWN AIRLINE IF HE WANTED AND CALL IT THE BIG BOY AND GIRLS RIDES..