Woman calls out ‘trolls’ after sharing video of man punching her seat on flight to NC
A woman is calling out social media “trolls” after sharing video of an alleged assault on her flight to North Carolina.
Wendi Williams was on a plane from New Orleans to Charlotte when she says another passenger “started hammering away” at her.
“He was angry that I reclined my seat and punched it about 9 times - HARD,” Williams wrote earlier this month on Twitter.
She says the other passenger calmed down by the time she took out her camera to record him repeatedly thrusting his fist against the back of her seat, according to video obtained by NBC’s Today show and other outlets.
The footage was viewed more than 600,000 times, and some critics emerged.
Over the past week, Williams has taken to Twitter to confront some of the backlash.
One Twitter user took issue that she didn’t address her alleged attacker in the video, which lasted about 45 seconds.
“I would’ve said something in the first 10 seconds,” the person wrote. “She’s a wuss.”
Williams responded: “Staying calm takes way more strength than popping off. Being louder doesn’t make you right.”
Another social media user said it was tough to believe Williams’ version of events.
“yes..he was childish,” the person tweeted. “But I still start with what instigated it...and refusing to be courteous to an ask, I don’t have respect for that.”
In her reply, Williams wrote: “I have no respect for ‘men’ who think punching a woman, through a seat or not, is defensible.”
Other Twitter users came to her defense.
“omg..this is terrible, why didn’t anyone help you?” one person asked.
“Misogyny is alive and well on Twitter and in the Sky,” another wrote.
After her initial post, that social media user said she also was the subject of online outrage. Williams called out one of the so-called “trolls.”
“It’s bad enough I’ve had to deal with trolls like you and this entire experience,” she wrote. “Now the people defending me are being trolled! Would you want your mom to be treated this way?”
American Airlines in a statement said it’s investigating the reported incident.
“We are aware of a customer dispute that transpired on American Eagle flight 4392, operated by Republic Airways on January 31,” the airline told McClatchy News. “The safety and comfort of our customers and team members is our top priority, and our team is looking into the issue.”
Williams in her posts also said a flight attendant told her to delete video of the passenger and let him have a drink.
“She offered him a complimentary cocktail!” Williams tweeted.
This story was originally published February 14, 2020 at 10:02 AM with the headline "Woman calls out ‘trolls’ after sharing video of man punching her seat on flight to NC."
