- Jae’lynn Chaney, 27, recalled a ‘distressing’ incident at Chicago airport
- She said she wasn’t given help de-boarding the plane, finding it ‘dehumanizing’
- READ MORE: Plus-sized influencer wants extra seats for fat fliers
A polyamorous plus-sized influencer has hit back after trolls accused her of claiming obesity was a disability.
Jae’lynn Chaney, 27, posted a video in response to a comment that was made under one of her videos that said: ‘Obesity is not a disability.’
‘Let’s be clear: being fat does not automatically mean you’re disabled,’ the influencer, who lives in Vancouver, Washington, wrote in an Instagram video that she posted on Tuesday.
‘Repeat after me: fat and disabled are not the same thing. Good job class.
‘Now, let’s talk about facts: It’s 100 percent possible to be fat and disabled at the same time. Shocking, I know.
‘But here I am, a living, breathing example.’
Jae’lynn’s video came after she detailed a ‘distressing’ experience she had at the Chicago O’Hare Airport as a wheelchair user in another clip.
‘I faced a significant challenge when trying to get to baggage claim,’ she wrote in that TikTok video, showing a clip of herself in a wheelchair being pushed down the airbridge from the plane to the terminal.
‘The only option was to go through a revolving door,’ she continued. ‘We pressed the button to slow it down for people with disabilities, but as we entered we got stuck.’
Jae’lynn continued saying she was ‘claustrophobic’ and began to panic.
‘[I was] frantically motioning to the staff for help,’ she recalled. ‘They just stared at me, offering no assistance.’
According to the influencer, someone passing by noticed her struggle and tried to help, but the airport staff remained ‘unresponsive.’
‘This was my second terrible experience at O’Hare during just one trip,’ she claimed.
Jae’lynn called the experience ‘frustrating’ and ‘dehumanizing,’ using the hashtag ‘fat and disabled’ on her video.
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‘The lack of assistance [highlighted] the necessity for airport staff to treat travelers of all sizes and abilities with the respect and care they deserve,’ she concluded the video.
DailyMail.com has contacted Chicago O’Hare International Airport for comment.
The plus-sized woman previously ruffled feathers after demanding extra seats for fat fliers be subsidized by slimmer passengers.
Until recently, Jae’lynn traveled with extra oxygen and required the use of a wheelchair instead of walking longer distances after doctors suspected she suffered a stroke in 2019.
In a recent post to Instagram, the travel influencer lashed out after receiving comments about her weight, telling people there was no correlation between being overweight and disabled – despite comments from people accusing her of saying that.
Hundreds of people commented on the post, with some sympathizing with the woman’s plight.
‘I’m so sorry this happened to you,’ a fellow handicapped traveler wrote.
‘I understand the frustration and difficulty faced by others not understanding. Sending you positive vibes and a big hug.’
‘Yessss! Thank you for bringing this up,’ another wrote.
Others slammed the influencer for her size.
‘You’re not handicapped, you’ve self harmed. You don’t get a prize for that,’ one user remarked.
‘You are not handicapped – why would you request the wheelchair service?!’ another questioned.
‘You did this yourself you should lose some weight you not disabled you just self harmed and eat like a pig this ain’t plus size this super super fat.’
‘They may not know how to open the door,’ someone else pointed out.
‘I’m a flight attendant, I would have no idea how to assist. Put this on corporations, not workers.’
Earlier in the month, Jae’lynn claimed she was discriminated against by an airport employee who refused to push her in a wheelchair because of her weight.
She recounted her experience with a wheelchair assistant on a jet bridge after a recent landing at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport.
In a video posted to social media, she claimed that when she tried to deplane the aircraft, the employee assigned to help assist her started to walk away when she realized she was supposed to help the plus-size woman and not one of the smaller passengers.
The travel influencer said that as the employee walked away with the wheelchair she was making comments about her size.
Jae’lynn – who has previously demanded free extra seats for fat fliers subsidized by slimmer passengers – says the ordeal left her gasping for air.
