Plus-sized model Tess Holliday claimed she was given an unsolicited lecture about her weight during a cross-country flight.
The body-positive activist was aboard a United Airlines aircraft when a flight attendant allegedly made fatphobic comments and a “myriad of other things.”
“You don’t say things like that to people,” said the model.
Tess Holliday claimed she was given an unsolicited lecture about her weight during a cross-country flight
Image credits: tessholliday
Sharing the story on social media, Tess revealed that she was traveling with her 9-year-old son Bowie from Tampa, Florida, to Los Angeles, California when the incident took place.
“Today, [a] first class flight attendant lectured me about my body after seeing I was flying with my child,” she wrote online. “10 minutes of unsolicited health tips I didn’t ask for.”
The unexpected turn of events began when the mother decided to use the bathroom in the middle of the flight.
She had accidentally pressed the attendant call button, prompting a male cabin crew member to knock on the door and ask if she needed assistance.
Image credits: David Syphers/Unsplash
The two began having a casual and friendly exchange that slowly became awkward for Tess.
She said the male attendant started talking about his “very, very, very large” sister who was “probably” the same size as Tess.
He claimed the sister once took a United Airlines flight, during which the man sitting next to her said she “needed to lose weight.”
The man even filed a complaint with the airline, claiming he “didn’t like that she was large,” the flight attendant allegedly told the model.
The male attendant claimed he had a “very, very, very large” sister who was “probably” the same size as Tess
Image credits: tessholliday
Showing no qualms about commenting on a stranger’s appearance, the attendant then told Tess she “needed to lose weight.”
He claimed he noticed she was traveling with a child and she would do something about her weight if she cared about him.
“I didn’t really know what to say,” Tess said about the situation. “Everyone’s like, ‘You should have said or done this.’ I was trying to be polite because I’m traveling with my child.”
Image credits: tessholliday
Elsewhere during their conversation, the male attendant apparently claimed his own wife “weighs less than 100 pounds.”
She “doesn’t eat the processed c**p,” he added.
He also claimed the “main issue” with Tess was “her belly region.” And belly fat was a “k***er,” he added.
The crew member also spoke to the body-positive activist about his wife who “weighs less than 100 pounds”
Image credits: tessholliday
The Not So Subtle Art Of Being A Fat Girl author found the comments completely inappropriate, with the conversation lasting “entirely too long.”
Yet somehow, their strange encounter did not end there. When the male crew member came out to serve snacks to passengers, he allegedly offered gummies to her son.
“It would keep him from being tempted,” Tess recalled him saying.
Image credits: tessholliday
After sharing her “anger and embarrassment” online, fans supported the body positive activist and said the flight attendant should be reported.
“This is complaint worthy behaviour,” one commented online. “It is obnoxious and uncalled for in any capacity but this person was WORKING.”
“You should have said ‘I bet your sister thinks your annoying and rude too,’” one suggested.
“People need to mind their business, their body and their bank account,” one commented online
Image credits: tessholliday
Others claimed, “He was trying to save your life.”
“Though he was disrespectful and shouldn’t have said that to you AT ALL. He isn’t wrong. I am a big person myself I don’t want to be this anymore,” said another.
Tess reportedly did not want the male attendant to be fired, but she hoped he would be given sensitive training to interact better with customers.
Image credits: tessholliday
The model recently appeared on an episode of Good Morning Britain and addressed the popularity of GLP-1 weight loss medications.
She further alleged that people are no longer working with plus-size models because the pressure to stay “skinny” has returned.
“I think that, collectively, our society has moved to a place where thinness is in and body positivity and curvy is no longer popular for a lot of brands,” she said on the October 24 episode of the show.
“That’s what we’re seeing reflected on runways and magazines and in the media,” she went on to say.
Tess went on to say that it has been “really disheartening” to see her plus-size colleagues around the globe “not really working.”
The author acknowledged how GLP-1 weight loss medications have shown “amazing” results for so many people, but she lamented how some people have been overusing it since various brands have taken over the market.
“I think ever since 2020, there’s been a rapid decline in diversity overall,” she said. “So I think it’s kinda the perfect storm of the jabs and where our culture is at right now.”