'I refused to give crying child my seat on plane - the backlash has changed my life'
A plane passenger who was filmed demanding a crying child was removed from the seat she had booked has revealed the effect it has had on her life. Jeniffer Castro, 29, from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, had reserved the window seat on her flight in December.
When she got there, however, she spotted a youngster already seated. Jeniffer was filmed by a fellow passenger as she asked the parent to move the child from the seat, which she had pre-selected and paid for.
The footage soon went viral and Castro was subjected to online shaming. She has now revealed she is suing both the airline and the person who took the video without her permission.
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But she also told that the social media storm that followed saw her Instagram followers rocket to 2.1 million. And that shock surge has now led to her quitting her job in a bank to become an influencer full-time with brand deals.
Castro has lodged a complaint against GOL airlines for compensation and distress and damages which she claims were caused by the incident on their plane. She also claims to have filed against the passenger who filmed her.
Citing "judicial secrecy," Castro refused to disclose the amount and did not share the legal paperwork. She aims to prevent similar public shaming and what she termed "unauthorised exposure" in the future, reports the Mirror. Her move follows reports last month that she was contemplating legal action.
She said: "Since that incident, my life has taken a turn I could never have imagined. 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."
Castro says the incident began during boarding when she noticed a child sitting in her designated seat. Since she had selected the window seat in advance, Castro expected the child to move to another seat.
"I waited for him to correctly accommodate himself in another seat, and then I sat down in my seat," she recalled. The situation escalated when someone began filming Castro without her consent, she said.
"Throughout the flight, the child cried a lot, which, although uncomfortable, is understandable when traveling. What surprised me was the fact that a person who had nothing to do with the situation started filming me without permission, insulting me and trying to publicly embarrass me simply because I didn’t want to change seats."
The viral video led to widespread public backlash, which Castro says had severe consequences for her mental health and professional career.
"My reaction was complete shock,” she said. “I never imagined that something so simple could take on such proportions. Professionally, my life has changed a lot, so much so that today I am no longer in the field I worked in before.
"I was a banker. In my personal life, at the height of the repercussions, I practically didn’t leave the house. In addition to the emotional impact, I was also afraid, because we know that, unfortunately, there are many bad people in the world."
In response to the public scrutiny and the unauthorised filming, Castro says she decided to take legal action. She said: "I decided to sue the airline because what happened to me was a huge embarrassment, and this situation should never have reached this point.
“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. We all have rights, and they must be respected, regardless of other people’s opinions."
She added: "We gathered all the necessary evidence and took the appropriate measures against whoever filmed me. There is no action against the child's mother, only against those who violated my privacy."
Despite the backlash, Castro remains firm in her belief that she was within her rights to keep her seat.
"Each person has their own opinion, and I respect that," she explained. "I believe that we live in a society where thinking differently is natural and healthy, as long as there is respect. What makes everything more complicated is when people judge or attack without knowing all the details of the situation."
