“Hey @SouthwestAir! Look how fat I am on your plane! Quick! Throw me off!”
-Kevin Smith
Okay, the long story short is this: Kevin Smith was already on a plane, he was seated, he was ready for the plane to take off, and then the captain had him ejected from the flight. Because Smith was deemed as a “safety risk” (to which Smith tweeted: “what, was I gonna roll on a fellow passenger?”) and sent off the plane. After which he caught another Southwest flight, and he twit-pic’d the above photo. Actually, the whole catastrophe seemed to go down on Kevin’s Twitter account, where it looks like he’s still engaging in one of the biggest (and most justified) hissy fits ever. Here’s more:
Kevin Smith was delayed getting from Oakland to Burbank Saturday night because he was “too wide for the sky.” According to the ‘Clerks’ and ‘Jay & Silent Bob’ director’s Twitter, Southwest Airlines removed him from a flight after deeming him a safety risk.
“Dear @SouthwestAir – I know I’m fat, but was Captain Leysath really justified in throwing me off a flight for which I was already seated?” Smith tweeted.
“I’m way fat… But I’m not THERE just yet,” he continued. “But if I am, why wait til my bag is up, and I’m seated WITH ARM RESTS DOWN. In front of a packed plane with a bunch of folks who’d already I.d.ed me as ‘Silent Bob.'”
Smith was given a $100 voucher and put on a different Southwest flight, from which he continued to chronicle his mistreatment:
“The @SouthwestAir Diet. How it works: you’re publicly shamed into a slimmer figure. Crying the weight right off has never been easier!” he continued. “Hey @SouthwestAir! I’ve landed in Burbank. Don’t worry: wall of the plane was opened & I was airlifted out while Richard Simmons supervised.”
Southwest Airlines has a “customer of size” policy, requiring passengers to buy a second seat if they cannot fit between the arm rests. When extra seats are available these passengers are given refunds or relocated free of charge.
The company has not ignored Smith’s Twitter rant.
“I’ve read the tweets all night from @thatkevinsmith – He’ll be getting a call at home from our Customer Relations VP tonight,” it tweeted. “Again, I’m very sorry for the experience you had tonight. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do.”
[From The Huffington Post]
Personally, I do think it was wrong to eject one chubby (not morbidly obese) man from a flight when it was obvious that he fit in the seat and could buckle up and everything. It is discrimination. Of course, there’s enough discrimination going around to all kinds of groups in regards to flying. It’s sad that this one incident is getting and will continue to get so much attention, when there are probably thousands of stories of non-celebrity people out there who get kicked off of flights for little to no reason.
Since the incident, Kevin has been in rare form on Twitter. I was going to try to screencap some of the stuff, but it just goes on and on. Some of my favorites included:
Thank God I don’t embarrass easily (bless you, JERSEY GIRL training).
Wanna tell me I’m too wide for the sky? Totally cool. But fair warning, folks: IF YOU LOOK LIKE ME, YOU MAY BE EJECTED FROM @SOUTHWESTAIR.
You f-cked with the wrong sedentary processed-foods eater!
Via @SouthwestAir “Hopefully you received our voicemail earlier this evening” All lines checked, no voicemail message on any 323. Try again.
Twitpic and screen caps of Kevin Smith’s Twitter, courtesy of Twitter.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmcmlkZn5wsMirnJysn6esrLHVoqWYq52ewamr2JqlpJ2UlLynsr6spq6smKyytMC%2Bn6Oin5iprKe70ZiZnqGenKywwsSrrp6hl53BcA%3D%3D