A TikToker Refused To Switch Airline Seats & She's 'Not The Villain' Because She's A Mom

"Good for you, stand up for yourself."

The TikToker in her plane seat.

The TikToker in her plane seat.

Global Staff Writer

Few people are willing to be the "nice guy" when it comes to giving up their seats on planes and many of them are getting support for not giving in.

TikToker Maresa Friedman posted a video about her experience when she was asked by a mom on the plane to switch seats with her. Friedman's reasoning for refusing? She's a mom too.

Friedman insinuated that being a parent is no excuse and that moms travelling with their children should plan their seating arrangements in advance.

"I am not a villain for not moving from the seat in first class I paid full fare for," wrote Friedman, followed by the middle finger emoji. "I'm also a mom so it's called PLANNING AHEAD."

@maresasd

I'm sorry moms and families but as a fellow mom I'm not a villain for not giving up my seat

The video has already racked up 2.7 million views and many supportive comments.

One commenter wrote, "good for you, stand up for yourself," while another wrote, "Is this the same as grocery checkout? U have one item. Can I go ahead of you? I say no — we're queuing."

Some users shared similar experiences they had on planes, and one wrote, "one time I had all my little kids sitting near me (I have 6) & this couple asked me if I could swap a kid so they could sit next to their partner lol."

"I don't give up my seat anywhere ever on a plane. I reserved it early enough to get what I wanted," commented one user. "Your loss if you didn't."

"If they want to sit together, let them give up THEIR first class seats and sit in coach," wrote another.

"This happened to me... I replied with no... put my AirPods back in while she stood there for 15 minutes talking at me... I don't move for kids or anyone," commented another user.

"As soon as I sit down, the noise-cancelling headphones go on. Any ridiculous requests will be treated as noise," added another user.

Others have recently opened up about taking a similar stance and refusing to switch seats to accommodate other passengers, and they too have been met with praise.

One Reddit user recounted a story on the Am I The A**hole community about when he refused to move seats on a plane for a family, and most people voted that he was not the a**hole in the situation.

Another TikToker found herself in the same situation and made a video about it, receiving over 6.6 million views.

That shows that Friedman is not the only one who has found herself in such a predicament and decided to say no.

Would you move from your business class seat so a mom could sit with her children on a flight?

  • Sameen Chaudhry (she/her) was a Toronto-based Staff Writer for Narcity's Global Desk. She has a Bachelor of Arts and Science from the University of Toronto, where she majored in political science and philosophy. Before joining Narcity, she wrote for 6ixBuzzTV, covering topics like Toronto's music scene, local real estate stories, and breaking news.

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