A dad-of-three has been slammed for "body shaming" a stranger who allegedly sat in his plane seat because he couldn't fit in any other. John James was returning home from the Bahamas with his wife and children, expecting it to be a relaxing flight with ample space.
He explained how he'd booked the "entire second row in first class" - but was split up from his loved ones to accommodate for a 500lbs (35 stone) man. In a furious rant on Instagram, he said: "[We had] four seats total, two lap children. We get the second row so that the kids can have their bags under the seats so we can quickly access necessities.
"We grab our tickets and walk on the plane and guess what? We are completely split up between rows one and three. I sit down in the first row next to a gentleman who is anxiously peeling back a wrapper of his double XL king-size chocolate bar.
"Why did they move us when we strategically and specifically bought the entire second row? Why? Because the gentleman peeling back that chocolate bar was 500+ pounds and needs more space only available in the first row.
"I literally own a fitness/supplement company for women. I truthfully want you all to feel strong, sexy, and fit.
"The reality of this situation is that this society of 'yes it's OK to do whatever you want as long as you tell yourself you are happy' is doing you a major disservice.
"Sometimes you need to hear a painful truth to grow up."
Despite "promising" it's not his intention to hurt anybody's feelings, his comment did not go down well with social media users.
Responding his outburst, one Reddit user said: "It's not the man's fault the airline gave him those seats, shaming him is not necessary and so gross.
"I hate when people fat shame under the guise of wanting to motivate people to be healthier. John was mad and wanted to make the guy feel like s**t."
Another user added: "Chocolate bar guy bought a first-class ticket only to find himself surrounded by entitled, irate parents with screaming children. Then he gets hung up to dry via social media."
A third user said: "I couldn't even finish reading the entire thing because it was just so malicious and evil. Who talks like that about someone?"
However, others tried to work out how the problem even came about considering the family booked the second row and the man was placed into the first, with many assuming John made a mistake when explaining the situation.
One user asked: "Maybe I'm having reading comprehension struggles, but how is it the fault of the man that their family's seats got split up?"
Another user added: "I was left wondering how a man being placed in the first row messed up their full second-row purchase..."
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