Brazilian woman refuses seat swap for crying toddler, plans legal action after viral video

A Brazilian woman who refused to give up her aeroplane seat for a crying toddler says she will sue the passenger who filmed her and the airline following the incident.

Jeniffer Castro, 29, was flying from Rio de Janeiro to Belo Horizonte on December 4, when the drama unfolded, with video of her refusing to give up her seat on a GOL Airlines flight subsequently going viral, The Sun reported.

The upset young boy reportedly had a window seat but became agitated and wanted Castro’s seat. When Castro refused, a passenger took out her phone and started filming her.

“Why doesn’t she want to change seats?” a woman could be heard saying behind the camera.

“I even asked if she has some kind of syndrome or something. If someone has a problem or some disability, we understand.

“I’m recording your face, this is disgusting. It’s the 21st century and people have no empathy for children.”

Castro has become somewhat of a reluctant social media star since the incident, amassing 2.1 million followers since the clip was blasted on social media.

She went on the podcast, Cola Mais, explaining she would “take action” following the incident, including legal action against the airline and the passenger, according to Sunrise.

“Measures are now being taken,” she said. “What I went through wasn’t easy. The flight attendants could have asked me if I needed anything, or if I was bothered by the passenger, but they didn’t. They stayed out of it.”

On Monday, Sunrise guests Amanda Rose and Angela Mollard backed Castro’s stance.

“If you want your child to have a specific seat, then you book that specific seat and in this scenario, the child was sitting there looking out the window and the lady said this is my seat, and she threw a tantrum,” Rose said.

“Why would you give in to a tiny little child throwing a tantrum? That is the mother’s problem, but to film the lady and humiliate the lady because she would not swap seats, that is where it goes too far. Yes, everyone has a choice, but to humiliate her and put it online is atrocious.”

Mollard was equally outraged by the demand.

“I am with you, I am the type of person who books my seat, I pay for that seat, and I want that seat,” Mollard said.

“I was (once) in a flight overnight and I had to work the next day, I had the aisle seat, I always take that so the other three can get out.

“A woman said to me, ‘Would you mind moving to the other seat where my son is so he can sit with my two daughters and me?’ and I thought ‘I don’t want to do that’ and then I thought ‘How old is this kid?’

“I asked how old he is and she said he was 16 and had a middle seat, so it was a flat ‘no’. Other people around me gave me looks but I had my seat and put my mask on and slept for six hours.”