The Internet has given rise to a rather interesting phenomenon, that of influencers. Of course, there have always been those who influence us, but the Internet allows people in all positions to be put in the spotlight.
One thing that we have seen in recent years is a variety of plus-sized influencers who often talk about body positivity. Sometimes, they may also take their situation and take it to the extreme.
Jaelynn Chaney is one of those plus-sized influencers and sometimes, she posts things that seem to be meant to get attention. Recently, the 28-year-old was at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and she had a big complaint.
In fact, she ended up staging a protest over what she called ‘blatant discrimination’ against fat travelers. She said that the airport was ‘violating’ the rights of individuals after she was not given wheelchair assistance.
She forged the protest, holding up a sign that read: “SeaTac violates our rights. #WheelchairAccessForAll.”
Chaney is a well-known individual on social media. On TikTok, she has more than 140,000 followers and she posts videos regularly. The video she posted about the airport was because she claimed she was denied assistance with a wheelchair because of her ‘body size’.
She wrote in the caption: “I’m not alone—this has happened to other fat travelers, too. When I spoke up, people told me it was because I could ‘injure the staff’ just by existing. That’s blatant discrimination.”
She spoke about how the airport should have a ‘written policy stating their discrimination outright’ if they are not going to assist ‘fat people’.
She went on to add: “But instead, they lie, deny services, and leave disabled fat travelers stranded. This is unacceptable, and I will not stay silent.”
She is also interested in having others speak up about the experiences they have. She urges them: “Use your voice. If you’re scared, tell me and I’ll speak up for you. ’ll use this platform I’m grateful to have to uplift you and amplify your voice.”
When you post something like this on social media, you can expect a reaction. The problem is, that she likely didn’t get the reaction she wanted because most people were not in her corner.
Some were complaining that she had the ability to walk and that being fat was not a disability.
Another person put it more bluntly when they said: “There are so many horrible things happening right now and you choose to fight for your right to be a fat lazy drain on society.”
Interestingly, this is not the first time she claimed the airport denied her wheelchair assistance. She did so in a video last year. She was speaking of the staffers at the airport when she said:
“She started to walk away with the wheelchair while making comments about my size. Even when I told her I really needed the chair and needed her to let me sit down in it, she blatantly ignored me and kept walking.
“This is discrimination, nobody should be treated this way.”
