The plus-size travel influencer who has become famous for saying airlines should provide extra free seats for obese fliers has expanded her fat-pride activism to Uber and Lyft.
Jaelynn Chaney, known as Jae Bae, posted a video to TikTok Monday arguing that rideshare companies should compel their drivers to make seat belt extenders available for plus-size passengers.
‘Every time I use a ride share, I’m forced to go without a seatbelt because no belt extenders are available. This is a common issue for many plus-size individuals,’ she wrote in the caption of the video.
She continued: ‘This isn’t just inconvenient—it’s unsafe. It should be mandatory for ride shares to provide at least one seatbelt extender per vehicle.’
As the captions roll by on the video, Chaney is seen getting into the passenger seat of a sedan as if to illustrate her point.
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Perhaps anticipating some of the criticism she might receive, Chaney wrote that she always brings a universal seatbelt extender with her on rides, but they often don’t work despite being advertised as ‘universal.’
She added that companies such as Uber and Lyft should reimburse drivers for the cost of seatbelt extenders, which go for as low as $12 on Amazon.
‘If each driver carried at least one seatbelt extender specifically fitted for their vehicle, this problem could be eliminated. Safety for all sizes SHOULD NOT be optional,’ she concluded.
The vast majority of commenters did not appear sympathetic, instead opting to tell her that the problem lied with her and not the rideshare companies.
‘Not trying to be rude but if you need an extender to use a seat belt in a car that should be a sign to lock in and lose some weight,’ one viewer wrote.
Chaney – who has said God has tasked her with advocating for fat people – often uses her social media to broadcast alleged discrimination she faces as a plus-size person, most often at airports.
One of her most recent snafus occurred at Chicago O’Hare airport, where she got stuck in a revolving door and claimed staff did nothing to help her.
Despite not requiring a wheelchair for mobility issues on a day-to-day basis, Chaney was nonetheless being pushed through the airport in one when she claimed she became trapped.
Her video detailing the incident didn’t actually show her being stuck in the revolving door.
Chaney’s weight has not prevented her from finding romantic partners. In a recent video she said that the same ‘gym rats’ that troll her on TikTok have also propositioned her for sex on Tinder.
Chaney is in a polyamorous relationship with her husband.
The influencer’s petition to get the FAA to mandate airlines to provide free seats to fat fliers has surpassed 39,000.
