- Jeniffer Castro faced online criticism after she refused to give up her airline seat for a child.
- A video of the incident was viewed millions of times and reposted across platforms including TikTok.
- Castro said she was suing GOL Airlines and the passenger who filmed her.
A woman said she is suing an airline and a fellow passenger after an on-board incident went viral late last year.
Jeniffer Castro, 29, was working in a bank in Belo Horizonte, Brazil when she boarded a GOL Airlines flight in December.
Castro said a child was sitting in her designated window seat. when she boarded. She said she waited for him to move and then took her seat in comments reported by outlets including DailyMail.com.
Another passenger then started filming Castro, who can be seen wearing AirPods and closing her eyes.
The video was viewed millions of times, reposted across TikTok, and picked up by multiple international outlets.
👑 TODOS COM JENNIFER CASTRO! Jennifer Castro se tornou o assunto do momento nesta quarta-feira (4), depois de viralizar em um vídeo onde foi filmada e insultada por outra passageira em um avião. O motivo? Ela não quis trocar de lugar com uma criança que queria sentar na janela. Com a repercussão, Jennifer recebeu uma onda de apoio e compartilhou em seu Instagram uma montagem que a retrata como uma rainha, usando a hashtag TODOSCOMJENNIFERCASTRO. ✈️ Quem nunca defendeu o seu lugar com garra? E você, trocaria de lugar ou ficaria firme como a Jennifer? #JenniferCastro #Trending #TodosComJennifer #Viral #AntenaSulFM
♬ som original - Antena Sul Fm"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," Castro said. "Since that incident, my life has taken a turn I could never have imagined."
On the one hand, she found online fame and now has some 2 million followers on Instagram, where she posts about lifestyle and travel.
However, the incident had other ramifications. "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," Castro said.
Castro said she had filed a lawsuit against GOL Airlines and the passenger who filmed her, seeking compensation for distress, but did not reveal further details about the legal action.
GOL Airlines declined to comment.
