The woman who was filmed after refusing to swap her plane seat with a crying toddler has spoken out to give her version of events, including her plans to sue the ‘rude’ passenger who recorded her.
Jeniffer Castro certainly isn’t the first person to refuse to give up their plane seat for a child, and she probably won’t be the last either.
However, the 29-year-old from Brazil has revealed plans to sue the child’s mother after she whipped out her phone and started filming her before sharing the clip online where it later went viral.
The incident
On December 4, 2024, Castro got on a domestic flight in Brazil with GOL Airlines and found a toddler in her seat.
The child’s mother explained they wanted to look out the window, however, Castro explained she’d booked the window seat and it was subsequently assigned to her, which resulted in her asking them to move.
The mom then brought out her phone and started filming Castro, heard in the footage saying: “I’m recording your face, this is disgusting. It’s the 21st century and people have no empathy for children.”
However, Castro has since spoken out about her version of the incident and even revealed whether she plans to take legal action against the mom.
‘Measures being taken’
During an appearance on Cola Mais Podcast – the episode being shared on January 22 – Castro was asked whether she’s considered taking legal action against the plane company or mother.
While not stating what ‘measures’ and whether they’re legal or not, she said: “[Translation] Measures are now being taken. What I went through wasn’t easy. The flight attendants could have asked me if I need anything, or if I was bothered by the passenger, but they didn’t. They stayed out of it.”
UNILAD has contacted GOL Airlines for comment.
Castro said when she got on the plane she told the mom and child it was her ‘seat’ and ‘waited for him to leave’.
“A guy across the aisle said ‘Change with him, you sit next to the aisle and he’ll have your place’,” she continued.
After getting to her seat, Castro says the mother was ‘very rude’ to her and ‘the boy cried the entire flight, it was around 50 minutes from Rio de Janeiro to Belo Horizonte’.
The mom recorded Castro and the footage went viral online, receiving mixed responses, although many sided in Castro’s favor.
“She is well within her right not to move! I’m sick of self-entitled parents,” one Facebook user said, as another wrote: “I would sue everyone who filmed me against my will. Just saying.
As a photographer… I need permission for everyone I have a picture of or they can sue me for this. You need permission of everyone that you have pictures of and videos of… I think people have forgotten this fact in this age of social media.”
“She paid for it, it’s her seat. The toddlers parent’s poor planning doesn’t constitute an emergency for the lady so nope,” a third argued.
