Co-passenger secretly fat-shamed woman on the plane — until one man stood up for her publicly

Savannah Phillips didn't know how to confront a rude and insensitive co-passenger fat-shaming her on the flight. So a kind man who had been watching everything from behind stepped in for her ultimate rescue. Phillips shared the beautiful story on Facebook on May 15, 2018.

Phillips said she always books a flight, keeping in mind that she doesn't have to sit next to anyone. However, her flight to Chicago was changed last minute, and she didn't get to pick her seat like usual. "I'm not the biggest person on the airplane, but I'm not the smallest. My worst nightmare is someone being uncomfortable because they have to sit next to me," she wrote in her Facebook post. Phillips had to sit at the gate, next to an older guy who said he was a comedian. "He looked like he was in his 60s and had on bright yellow sunglasses. He stood up so I could get into my seat next to the window. As soon as I got buckled, he sat back down. The flight attendant started the safety speech, and he got his phone out (with a huge font and the screen brightness turned all the way up)," she recalled. As they prepared to take off, Phillips saw the guy refer to her as a "smelly fatty" while texting someone on his phone. Offended by his attitude, she turned her head, and before she knew, she was crying. "I sat and cried silently, hoping this guy didn’t try to make small talk, because I didn’t trust how I would react, and I didn’t want to get kicked off the plane. I was so hurt," Phillips wrote.

While the woman was going through a hard time suppressing her tears, another co-passenger sitting behind Phillips and the comedian tapped on the guy's shoulder and insisted they swap seats. "We are switching seats, now," he said. When the comedian asked why, the kind man confronted him about his earlier action. "You are texting about her, and I’m not putting up with that," he said. The empathetic man came and sat next to Phillips and was shocked when he saw her crying. He asked her if she had seen the text, and when Phillips nodded yes, he encouraged her not to let that affect her. "He said he just happened to see that guy’s text messages, he started shaking, he was so mad and knew he had to do something. He stopped the flight attendant and told her what he was about to do. I told him thank you for what he did and that it meant the world to me, and that he would be my husband’s new favorite person," Phillips shared. Moving on, she recalled how the flight attendant, impressed by the man, kept offering him free drinks and said he was her hero. "He wasn’t her hero; he was mine," Phillips added.

Sadly, even today, the so-called 'modern world' still discriminates against people based on their appearance.  In fact, one-third of Americans confessed that they or someone they know had been 'fat shamed' in 2018, according to a national survey conducted by NORC. Moreover, nearly 1 in 5 said that people with obesity are often provided a lower-quality care by doctors and other medical professionals. While respectfully warning people about the many health issues related to obesity is fine, humiliating them because of their appearance isn't. Meanwhile, reacting to the post, Ashley Cardwell commented, "This story literally brought tears to my eyes. I have the same fear every time I have had to fly. People can be so very mean. So thankful that there are still good people in the world. Thank you so much for sharing your story." Natalie Jones wrote, "What an amazing man. So thankful he was there! You and no one deserve that kind of horrible treatment. I'm shocked at a grown man's hurtful words, but I know so many people are just mean, so I suppose I shouldn't be [shocked]. You are beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing."

Sarah Leslie Calvert shared, "I, too, cried when I read this post. I’ve been there; I’ve been in this same situation. It happened way more times than I would like to admit — but what it did for me was make me double-check myself and make sure that I’m not being judgmental about others and speak up when I see it happening! Now that I’ve lost a lot of weight, I feel empowered to do more — even though when I look in the mirror, I still see the old body. Thank you for sharing this. I hope it goes nationally viral — maybe Ellen will call you up for a visit! Remember this — God doesn’t make junk!"

You can follow Savannah Phillips on Facebook for lifestyle content.

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