Savannah Phillips was on a United Airlines flight from Oklahoma to Chicago on Monday, where she was seated to a man she described as “in his 60s with yellow sunglasses who claimed to be a comedian.”
She wrote on her Facebook page: “As soon as I got buckled, he sat back down… his phone was maybe 12 inches from my face and he proceeded to text someone that he was sitting next to a ‘smelly fatty.’”
“I don’t even know what the rest of his text said,” she wrote. “I turned my head away as fast as I could. I was shocked and it was like confirmation of the negative things I think about myself on a daily basis. Before I knew it, I could feel hot, salty tears coming down my face.”
Speaking to NewsChannel 5, Phillips said that the man across the aisle happened to see the text also.
Photo Credit: Inside Edition
She wrote: “He tapped him on the shoulder and said, ‘I need to talk to you.’ The guy took his earphones out and turned around and he said, ‘We’re switching seats right now.’”
The other passenger told the comedian that he would not tolerate the offensive text messages.
The two men switched seats immediately.
Phillips recounted: “When he sat down he saw me crying and asked why I was crying. He said to not let it get to me and not to worry about it, and we started making small talk which made me feel better.”
She later learned that the man who helped her was Chase Irwin, a manager at the Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row bar and restaurant in Nashville.
Photo Credit: Inside Edition
Irwin took a photo of the man and posted it on Snapchat with the caption: “This guy, prob mid 50s just text his wife that he is sitting next to a smelly fatty and was about to vomit. I watched her read his text and is now looking sad. Should I New Mexico slap the **** out of him or just say something when landing?”
Phillips didn’t know Irwin’s name, so she posted on Facebook asking for help in identifying the good Samaritan.
Irwin stated that he didn’t intervene for publicity.
“I was going to wait until the end of the flight to say something, but I could not have this guy sit next to her this whole flight and her thinking he’s making fun of her. It really gets to me deep down when I see someone crying, and when I saw her crying it really hit me hard and actually got sick to my stomach,” he said.
He told NewsChannel 5 that when the fat-shamer asked him why he wanted to swap seats, he responded: “Because you’re a heartless person, I read your text, and the girl next to you crying also read your text. And you should really take into consideration other people’s feelings.”
“I was so blessed and happy he was there. I hope it sets a good example for others for what they should do in situations like that and to stick up for people when they need help,” Phillips said. “The flight attendant kept trying to give him free drinks and told him that he was her hero. He wasn’t her hero – he was mine.”
“I do feel a little more beautiful today,” she added.