People support woman who was harassed by couple for not giving up the extra seat she purchased

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on May 23, 2022. It has since been updated.

Reddit users are rallying to support a fellow Reddit user who, in a post shared to the r/AmItheAsshole community, how she was harassed by a couple for not giving up her extra seat—which she paid for—so that they could sit together. In the post, which has been upvoted more than 34,300 times since being uploaded, u/Tessy23 asked if she was in the wrong for not letting them have their way. "I am obese. Like I am comfortable having two seats in the plane type of obese. I am well aware of that and I really don't like to bother people with my weight," she wrote.

u/Tessy23 explained that she was flying from Europe to the United States for a conference at the beginning of this month when she was subjected to the harrowing experience. "A week ago I was going to a conference by plane and because I was going alone (usually when I fly with my boyfriend I don't buy two since he sits next to me) I bought two seats. I fit in one but my side is usually touching the person next to me and I feel uncomfortable for them. It happened to me that they gave me nasty looks and I felt extremely uncomfortable the whole flight," she shared.

Unfortunately, despite going out of her way to ensure her comfort—and that of her co-passengers—u/Tessy23 still had to deal with a couple's misplaced sense of entitlement. "So I sat down in the plane and put the armrest up so I would be really comfortable. Some couple came and they both sat next to me because they got separate seats and they noticed the seat next to me was empty. Exactly what I was afraid of happened," she wrote.

"My side kept touching the guy next to me and he even pushed me a bit when he moved in the seat. I was feeling extremely uncomfortable and asked him if he could go to his seat because I bought this one for my comfort," the Reddit user continued. "He told me no since the seat is empty and he wants to be with his girlfriend. Well, I told him I understand but I feel uncomfortable and I paid for the second seat so exactly this doesn't happen. He refused again and started to chat with his GF."

Finally, realizing there was no point in talking to them any further, the woman called the flight attendant. "I called the flight attendant and quietly told her what is happening. She asked the guy to leave my second seat and he and his GF gave me a nasty look. The GF mumbled something like 'fu**ing fat bi**h' under her breath but nothing directly to me," the Reddit user concluded, asking fellow users whether she was an a**hole for insisting that the man vacate her extra seat. A majority of those who responded to the post assured u/Tessy23 that she had done nothing wrong.

"NTA- Former flight attendant. It's your seat. You paid for it. If that (classless) couple wanted to sit together that badly, they should have paid for seats together," wrote MolassesFragrant342. "NTA! You bought that seat. The couple sitting apart has nothing to do with you. IDGAF if you were thin and bought a 2nd seat for your emotional support ghost! That's your seat," commented flaky-burnt.