Model Tess Holliday Fat-Shamed By United Airlines Flight Attendant Who Invoked Her 9-Year-Old Son In The Cruelest Way Possible

Model and body positivity activist Tess Holliday recently shared a really upsetting experience from a United Airlines flight, where she says a flight attendant made deeply rude comments about her weight. The incident, which Holliday talked about in a series of TikTok videos starting October 19, 2025, has gotten a lot of people talking about fatphobia and how people in larger bodies get treated in public.

Holliday was flying from Tampa to Los Angeles in first class with her nine-year-old son when it happened. After she accidentally hit the call button while using the restroom, a male flight attendant came to check on her. What started as a normal conversation quickly became really uncomfortable when the attendant began talking about his own sister, who he said was also plus-sized and “did need to lose weight.”

The flight attendant then invoked Holliday’s son in the cruelest way possible, telling her that if she “cared about [her] child,” she would lose weight too. The conversation went on for over 30 minutes, with the attendant comparing Holliday to his wife, who he said weighed “less than 100 pounds.” He also said something really disturbing about her belly fat possibly making it “difficult to resuscitate [her]” if there was a medical emergency. 

People Are Rightfully Mad About This Unprofessional Behavior

The reaction to Holliday’s story has been really supportive. A lot of people said they were shocked that a flight attendant would think it was okay to make such personal and mean remarks to a passenger. One commenter wrote about how bold the whole thing was, saying “It’s the AUDACITY, for me. What makes a total effing stranger think it’s ok to talk this way to a COMPLETE STRANGER?!? I would be aghast if someone I KNEW spoke to me this way. A stranger?!? Wtf”

Another commenter, shared her own similar story, writing “I ordered cold medicine on Uber Eats at 2 am. Met the guy outside and he proceeded to tell me my issues with being sick and not being able to sleep were because I was so overweight and he used to be like that and he told me to stop eating bread and carbs and I’d feel so much better. I AM overweight. I was also 24 weeks pregnant.” Her story is similar to other uncomfortable encounters with strangers who cross the line.

Holliday later said she talked to United Airlines about what happened. She wrote that she spoke to United and “they said that they would pass it along and talk to the team member.” She also said she told them she doesn’t “want anyone losing their job” but wanted the airline “to be aware and maybe do some sensitivity training so it doesn’t happen again.”

Even though the experience was really painful, Holliday ended her message with an encouraging note. She told her followers to keep taking up space. Her story has connected with many people who have dealt with similar treatment, especially those who have had to deal with others making mean comments about how they look. Her supporters told her that she deserves to live in her body without having to apologize for it.