Chrissy Teigen has started a debate about a pregnant mother being asked to clean up her daughter’s spilled popcorn on a United Airlines flight, sparking a range of responses from fellow celebrities.
MLB pitcher Anthony Bass took to Twitter on Sunday to post a picture of his two children, whom he shares with wife Sydney Rae James, on a plane. In the caption, he alleged that when a flight attendant noticed the popcorn on the floor, next to his child’s seat, the worker asked Bass’ wife to pick it up.
“The flight attendant @united just made my 22 week pregnant wife travelling with a five-year-old and two-year-old get on her hands and knees to pick up the popcorn mess by my youngest daughter,” he wrote on Twitter. “Are you kidding me?!?!”
The next day, Teigen went on to reshare Bass’ post, as she noted how his remarks about United could ultimately stir up a conversation online.
“Oh man this is exactly exactly the kind of tweet twitterers love. god speed, friend,” she wrote, before adding in a second tweet: “Also: wet paper towel.”
Along with Teigen, some other celebrities have responded to the post, including Jessie James Decker, who is the sister of Bass’ wife.
On her Instagram Story on Sunday, James criticised United Airlines and shared more details about the flight, as she defended her sister.
“As you know, she is five months pregnant, high risk, and also travelling alone with her two small children,” she wrote in the since-expired post, which has been shared on Twitter. “Blaire accidentally spilled some popcorn in the aisle and the flight attendant came up to Sydney with a trash bag, and a wet wipe, telling her the (captain) wants Syd to clean up every drop.”
She went on to describe how Sydney was “on her hands and knees” during the flight, trying to clean up the popcorn.
“[She was] crying in the aisle, completely humiliated and exhausted, with her children. While everyone else watched,” Decker added. “Way to go United.”
Other Twitter users responded to Teigen’s tweet about the incident to defend Bass’ wife.
“I still think the key word here is Pregnant! Never assume the health of a pregnant woman is okay! Give the woman some respect!” one wrote.
Another added: “They are going to clean the plane anyway after it lands & everyone gets off.”
Some people emphasised their support for Sydney, after Bass revealed on Twitter that United Airlines was the one who gave his children the popcorn.
“I was rolling my eyes until I read [that] United gave them the popcorn,” one person claimed. “Is there a messier dry snack on earth? If an airline gives popcorn to anyone they have it coming.
However, many people had different thoughts about the situation, as they claimed that Bass’ children could have cleaned up popcorn themselves, as opposed to his wife or airline staff.
“Omg a five-year-old can easily pick up popcorn, the Mom didn’t need to do it,” one wrote.
“As a former airline worker, I’d just like to say you can’t have it both ways. You can’t leave a massive mess on the plane and expect to not have travel delays,” another added. “The plane doesn’t magically clean itself between flights. More mess = more time resulting in possible delays.”
A third added: “Oh for the love of God. They’re two and five, a perfect age to give them a small job of cleaning up after themselves. It’s called a life lesson and family teamwork.”
On Sunday, Bass went to Twitter to share that he’s been in contact with the airline company, writing: “Thank you everyone for the support. United Airlines is taking care of matters with the flight attendant internally”.
The Independent has contacted a representative for United Airlines for comment.
