‘I moved plane seats to avoid plus-size woman and reaction was extreme’ | Weird | News

A man has sparked a debate after asking to swap plane seats to get away from a plus-sized woman because ‘her size’ was causing him discomfort on a long-haul flight.

During the nine-hour journey, he found himself seated next to the woman and claimed her body “spilled” over into his space.

In an attempt to avoid causing a scene, he discreetly approached a flight attendant to enquire about changing seats.

Nevertheless, the woman ended up finding out about his plan and was upset.

Sharing his story on Reddit, he explained: “Am I the a***hole for asking to change seats on a flight. I asked a flight attendant if I could switch seats because I was physically uncomfortable sitting next to a woman whose body spilled into my seat on a nine-hour flight. I didn’t mention her weight or make a scene – I just quietly asked to move.”

WARNING: The post below contains explicit language. Reader discretion is advised.

He continued: “The conflict happened when the woman realised I had moved and confronted me in front of everyone. She accused me of embarrassing her, and later my friend said I was being fatphobic and inconsiderate.”

Reflecting on the incident, he questioned whether he was at fault, acknowledging that while he did not intend to cause distress, his actions evidently humiliated her, and pondered if he should have been more sensitive or simply endured the situation.

One user weighed in on the situation, commenting: “She’s the one who embarrassed herself by going up to you and making a scene. People who are actually embarrassed don’t get loud.”

Another chimed in with support: “You were quiet about it, respectful, didn’t make a scene, but that woman did.”

A further comment came from someone empathetic to the space issue: “And since she was occupying more than her space, she should have paid for the space she took up, which was two seats, not one. It’s not reasonable to expect you to suffer for her body. And this is coming from a larger woman.”

However, when the woman realised he had moved during the flight, she burst into tears in front of all the passengers and confronted him about his behaviour.

Yet another user pointed out: “She could have quietly enjoyed having two seats (which she should have paid for), she was the one who decided to make a scene.”

The perspective continued: “She got space, you got to avoid spinal pain for nine hours, everybody wins. No one was thinking about why you moved until she confronted you.”

Finally, a user concluded: “You bought a whole seat on the plane. It isn’t right that somebody is pouring over on top of you in your seat and making you uncomfortable. And you did request to move in a very tasteful way.”

They added: “The only attention that came to the situation was when she brought it up and she was probably just attention seeking. You definitely are not the a***hole.”