Cruel trolls have targeted a plus-size blogger after she opened up about the difficulties she encountered on a recent flight with Irish budget airline RyanAir, which she said included being too big to use the tray table or comfortably go to the toilet.
Kirsty Leanne has her own travel blog and is active on social media, on which she often hashtags her posts with #FlyingWhileFat and #PlusSizeTravel.
In a recent TikTok video which has received over 100,000 likes and 5000 comments, Leanne showcased her experience on the RyanAir flight.
At first she was concerned about being assigned a middle seat - but was relieved when the seat beside her was empty.
But her good fortune didn't last long.
Leanne said she struggled to fit down the plane's 'narrow' aisle, then once seated couldn't work on the flight as planned because she had nowhere to rest her laptop.
"The tray table was a big fat no," she wrote on one part of the video, which showed it not being able to get past her belly to fully open.
"Bathrooms were also a no go - I ended up not using it in the end and waiting until I got to the airport."
In a quote published on the Daily Mail, Leanne added: "It's probably one of the smallest bathrooms I've ever seen and I decided against trying to squeeze in."
Many comments on the TikTok post are supportive of Leanne, but many are not at all kind. Nasty comments have also been left on the Facebook posts about Leanne's video by news outlets.
"Pay for two seats or lose some weight," wrote one commenter.
"Take responsibility for your eating habits and stop blaming everything around you," said another.
"How embarrassing to struggle down the walkway and use the toilet," added one woman, who also claimed she was bullied as a size 18 but now, as a size 8, "looks good".
In addition to the thousands of comments on Leanne's own accounts, there are around 1200 on Daily Mail's post and hundreds more on Birmingham Live's, among other news outlets.
Supporters of Leanne have pointed out that she wasn't really complaining about RyanAir and wasn't demanding the airline better accommodate people of her size, but rather was simply sharing with followers what it was like for her to take that flight.
"What is everyone's problem? She's not hurting anyone, just showing her struggle with travel and how people in the same position can make it work!" one TikTok user said.
Another added: "I'm sorry but why is everyone commenting on someone else's body? Girl, you're beautiful, please ignore any hate."
