Influencer who wouldn’t give plane seat to crying child reveals she lost her entire career

Now she’s suing the airline


The Brazilian woman who went viral after refusing to give her plane seat to a crying toddler has taken over the internet once again, and she’s spoken about the devastating effects the backlash had on her life.

In December 2024, Jeniffer Castro wouldn’t give her pre-booked window seat to a child who was crying throughout the flight because he wanted to look out the window and another passenger started filming it.

The video took over the internet and she got loads of backlash, and the 29-year-old practically became famous overnight. Now, she’s an influencer with over two million followers who does brand deals for a living.

@antenasulfm

👑 TODOS COM JENNIFER CASTRO! Jennifer Castro se tornou o assunto do momento nesta quarta-feira (4), depois de viralizar em um vĂ­deo onde foi filmada e insultada por outra passageira em um aviĂŁo. O motivo? Ela nĂŁo quis trocar de lugar com uma criança que queria sentar na janela. Com a repercussĂŁo, Jennifer recebeu uma onda de apoio e compartilhou em seu Instagram uma montagem que a retrata como uma rainha, usando a hashtag TODOSCOMJENNIFERCASTRO. ✈ Quem nunca defendeu o seu lugar com garra? E vocĂȘ, trocaria de lugar ou ficaria firme como a Jennifer? #JenniferCastro #Trending #TodosComJennifer #Viral #AntenaSulFM

♬ som original – Antena Sul Fm

It’s turned out alright for her, but Castro has opened up about what it was like in the weeks after the video went viral. Her whole life was turned upside down thanks to one small moment, and she even lost the career she had worked so hard for.

“Since that incident, my life has taken a turn I could never have imagined,” she told the MailOnline. “Professionally, my life has changed a lot, so much so that today I am no longer in the field I worked in before. I was a banker.”

“In my personal life, at the height of the repercussions, I practically didn’t leave the house.”

It’s not clear whether she was sacked from her job as a banker or chose to quit. Either way, it was the plane incident that forced her to lose her entire professional career, and becoming an influencer wasn’t something she wanted.

“What should have been just an ordinary flight turned into an extremely embarrassing situation, exposing me unfairly and causing consequences that affected both my personal and professional life,” the woman added.

“I was the target of judgments, attacks and speculation from people who don’t even know the full story.”

She is now suing GOL Airlines because what happened on the December 4th flight was a “huge embarrassment” and had a devastating impact on her life, both physically and emotionally.

The Tab reached out to GOL Airlines and they declined to comment. 

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Featured image by: jeniffercastro/Instagram

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