A plus-size travel influencer punched airport staff at one of the country’s busiest airports after getting stuck in a revolving door.
Washington-based influencer Jae’lynn Chaney, 27, told her 136,000 TikTok followers about her experience in which she promises to “help plus-size people explore the world with confidence.”
Despite not needing a wheelchair for mobility reasons on a daily basis, Chaney decided to use one while passing through Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.
‘I recently had a distressing experience in chicago O’Hare Airport. “As a plus-size ambulatory wheelchair user, I faced a significant challenge trying to get to the baggage claim area,” Chaney began.
Plus-size travel influencer Jae’lynn Chaney, 27, claims she got trapped in a revolving door at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport
Chaney says he was using a wheelchair, although he rarely appears to use one judging by his social media posts.
‘The only option is to go through a revolving door. We pressed the slow down button for people with disabilities, but when we got in we got stuck,” she explained, noting that she is also claustrophobic.
“I started to panic and frantically flagged down the staff to help me, but they just stared at me and offered no help.”
Chaney, who is 6XL, did not post any photos or videos evidencing her ordeal and accused O’Hare Airport staff of failing to respond.
“This is my second terrible experience at O’Hare in one trip,” he said.
“The lack of assistance was not only frustrating, but also dehumanizing, and highlighted the need for airport staff to treat travelers of all sizes and abilities with the respect and care they deserve.”
But far from generating sympathy, those who commented on Chaney’s post were unhappy with his behavior.
Chaney criticized staff at Chicago’s O’Hare airport for not helping her, she says.
Far from generating sympathy, those who commented on Chaney’s post were unhappy with his behavior.
“You’re not disabled, why would you request wheelchair service?” asked one user.
“Getting stuck in doors designed for humans should be a giant wake-up call,” wrote another.
‘If you can stand up and pose like that, why can’t you walk???’ another commenter shared.
‘Stop thinking that you are so entitled that there is nothing wrong with walking. He was a big man and I lost weight. Now is the time to change,” someone else said.
In the past, Chaney has frequently advocated for free or larger seats on airplanes.
But demanding that extra seats be provided free of charge to fat travelers has only served to cause more uproar.
In an October video, he wrote, “Hot take: Every airline should have a customer policy the size of Southwest Airlines.”
“If more airlines adopted policies like Southwest Airlines’ size customer policy, offering free or refunded extra seats for plus-size passengers who need more space, air travel would be much more accessible and accommodating to people of size,” the caption said. .
Chaney also appealed to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) earlier this year with a petition asking airlines to scrap their “discriminatory” policies and grant free seats to obese passengers.
Jae’lynn Chaney, a plus-size travel influencer with around 135,000 followers on TikTok, has frequently advocated for free or larger seats on airplanes.
Chaney says this latest incident occurred at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
On social media, many have pointed out that the free space is not available for customers who are very tall and need extra legroom, who travel with medical equipment or are wheelchair users.
These groups often have to pay hundreds of dollars for additional space.
Until recently, Jae’lynn traveled on supplemental oxygen and required the use of a wheelchair instead of walking longer distances after doctors suspected she had suffered a stroke in 2019.
Earlier this month, Jae’lynn claimed she was discriminated against by an airport employee who refused to push her in a wheelchair because of her weight.
She recounted her experience with a wheelchair attendant on a flight deck after a recent landing, this time at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
In another TikTok video, she claimed that when she attempted to disembark the plane, the employee assigned to help her began walking away when he realized he was supposed to help the plus-sized woman and not one of the smaller passengers.
The travel influencer said that as the employee walked away with the wheelchair she was making comments about her size.
Jae’lynn, who had previously demanded free extra seats for fat passengers subsidized by thinner passengers, says the ordeal left her breathless.