Filmmaker Kevin Smith was ejected from a U.S. flight because the pilot decided that he was “too fat” to fly.
The star and director of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back boarded a Southwest Airlines plane from Oakland to Burbank, California at the weekend, but an air stewardess came over to share the captain’s concern that he was a “safety risk”.
In an angry post on his Twitter.com page, the 39-year-old writes, “I’m way fat. But I’m not THERE just yet. But if I am, why wait till 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 (identified) me as Silent Bob.”
The plane’s captain determined that Smith, who was holding a standby ticket, was too big for one seat in what was a full plane and he was put on a later flight. He was given a $100 voucher.
After an outcry in the cyber space, Southwest tweeted back with an apology as well as a personal phone call to Smith — which the acclaimed filmmaker dismissed as “insulting”.
Southwest Airlines later issued another apology but defended its policy of requiring two seats for passengers who cannot fit “safely and comfortably” in one seat.