Woman Who Went Viral for Refusing to Switch Plane Seats Hits Back With Lawsuit

The woman who went viral after she refused to give up her window seat to a crying child has filed a lawsuit against the airline and the passenger who filmed her.

According to The New York Post, Jennifer Castro is suing the Rio de Janeiro-based GOL Airlines in Brazil and the woman who filmed her. Castro, 29, is suing for distress and damages caused by the incident.

The woman told The Post she’s suing “to prevent similar public shaming.”

“Since that incident, my life has taken a turn I could never have imagined,” she told the outlet. “What should have been just an ordinary flight turned into an extremely embarrassing situation, exposing me unfairly and causing consequences that affected both my personal and professional life. I was the target of judgments, attacks, and speculation from people who don’t even know the full story.”

The ordeal unfolded on Dec. 4 when the Brazilian native boarded her flight. As she walked up to her seat, Castro found a child in her assigned window seat. It’s been reported that the child wanted to continue looking out the window, but Castro ordered the child out of her seat. After the child moved and started sobbing, another passenger (not the mother) started filming Castro and chastised her.

“I’m recording your face, this is disgusting,” the woman said in Portuguese, blasting Castro in the viral TikTok video. “It’s the 21st century and people have no empathy for children.”

During an appearance on the Cola Mais Podcast, Castro explained her side of things.

“I said, ‘This is my seat,’ and waited for him to leave,'” she explained. “A guy across the aisle said ‘Change with him, you sit next to the aisle and he’ll have your place.'”

But Castro wasn’t having it.

“The boy cried the entire flight, it was around 50 minutes from Rio de Janeiro to Belo Horizonte,” she continued. “The mother was very rude.”

Castro said her life turned upside down due to the incident. She said the repercussions affected her personal and professional life, and that she was afraid because “there are many bad people in the world.”

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“I decided to sue the airline because what happened to me was a huge embarrassment, and this situation should never have reached this point,” she said. “No one deserves to go through what I went through, being filmed, insulted, and attacked just for exercising a basic right. This lawsuit is not just about reparations, but also about setting a limit on this type of behavior.”

The incident caused an uproar, from people shaming her for refusing to give up her window seat on a 50-minute flight to others running to her defense.

In fact, Castro’s wave of supporters bolstered her social media following. Castro now has more than 2 million followers on Instagram.