Model and body-positivity advocate Tess Holliday has revealed that she was told to “lose weight” by a flight attendant while traveling with her son on a United Airlines flight departing Tampa, Florida.
Holliday told People that the incident occurred in the first-class cabin when she accidentally pressed a call button while using the restroom.
“I was in the restroom, and my hip hit the flight attendant call button,” she said.
“When I came out of the bathroom, the flight attendant then started to tell me that they noticed I was traveling with my child, and that losing weight would be in my best interest.”
According to Holliday, the flight attendant began discussing his sister, whom he described as “very, very large, probably [Holliday’s] size,” saying she had also been discriminated against while flying.
“He said that his sister needed to lose weight as well, and that the long-term effect on our bodies isn’t good for our health,” Holliday recalled.
She added that the conversation lasted around 10 minutes.
“I didn’t want to make a scene because my son was flying with me, but I was also in a state of shock.”
Holliday’s 9-year-old son was traveling in first class for the first time.
The two were watching “Lilo & Stitch” before the incident.
“He had flown when he was a baby but didn’t remember, so this was a really exciting experience for him,” Holliday said in a TikTok video about the encounter.
After landing, Holliday said she contacted United Airlines to report the incident.
“I told them that I didn’t want the flight attendant fired and that perhaps they could do some sensitivity training,” she told People, adding that the airline apologized for the situation.
Holliday also referred the company to the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, a nonprofit that advocates against discrimination based on body size.
The model noted the timing of the experience was “ironic,” as she had just returned from speaking to hundreds of middle and high school students about body confidence at an event promoting her new book, “Take Up Space, Y’all.”
Holliday, a longtime advocate for plus-size representation, has recently spoken about challenges facing models in the current industry climate.
During an Oct. 24 appearance on “Good Morning Britain,” she said the growing use of GLP-1 weight loss medications has made it harder for curvy models to find work.
“I think that, collectively, our society has moved to a place where thinness is in, and body positivity and curvy is no longer popular for a lot of brands,” she said.
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