‘No one deserves this’: Passenger filmed and shamed for not giving up her seat to crying kid—now she’s suing the airline and the bystander

Switching seats on an airplane feels low on the rung of contentious topics, but one woman’s refusal to switch seats has changed her life. While denying a request to cede her window seat to a crying toddler, passenger Jeniffer Castro was recorded by a fellow passenger. The video went viral, and now, Castro is filing charges against the airline and the passenger who recorded her, seeking compensation for emotional distress and damages.

The viral video racked up millions of views—now Jeniffer Castro is fighting back.

On Dec. 4, 2024, the TikTok account for Brazilian radio station Antena Sul FM 102.7 shared a video on their page. In it, Brazilian banker Jeniffer Castro sits in a window seat, asleep. A woman approaches Castro and asks her to give up her seat for her toddler. Castro refuses.

While the interaction is uneventful in and of itself, a different passenger was recording the whole exchange.

@antenasulfm 👑 TODOS COM JENNIFER CASTRO! Jennifer Castro se tornou o assunto do momento nesta quarta-feira (4), depois de viralizar em um vídeo onde foi filmada e insultada por outra passageira em um avião. O motivo? Ela não quis trocar de lugar com uma criança que queria sentar na janela. Com a repercussão, 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 você, trocaria de lugar ou ficaria firme como a Jennifer? #JenniferCastro #Trending #TodosComJennifer #Viral #AntenaSulFM ♬ som original – Antena Sul Fm

The video garnered 4.4 million views, over 76,000 likes, and over 7,600 comments, many in support of Castro’s decision to keep her seat. “Whoever recorded this should be embarrassed,” read one comment. “I would not change either. I pick the seat I want. Quit trying to push people around,” read another. “She paid for her window seat.” A third comment read. “The mom needs to get over it!”

In late 2024 and early 2025, other TikTok videos appeared discussing whether Castro was right or wrong to keep her seat. Most agreed Castro had a right to keep her seat. “Don’t think I’m about to give up a seat for you or your family, a seat that I paid for, especially if it’s a seat of my preference,” creator @chantalchantel30 argued in a video. “That’s entitlement. It’s neither cute nor cool.”

Castro says she was publicly shamed for simply keeping the seat she paid for

On March 11, 2025, The New York Post reported Castro is taking legal action against GOL Airlines (the airline she was flying during the incident) and the passenger who filmed her.

In an interview with The Post, Castro said she was publicly shamed. She wants not only to heal but to prevent similar public shaming and unauthorized exposure in the future. “I decided to sue the airline because what happened to me was a huge embarrassment, and this situation should never have reached this point,” she said. “No one deserves to go through what I went through, being filmed, insulted, and attacked just for exercising a basic right.” 

Castro also emphasized that she’s not taking legal action against the mother who requested her seat. “There is no action against the child’s mother, only against those who violated my privacy.”

‘I practically didn’t leave the house’

Castro said the incident began during the initial boarding of her flight when she noticed a toddler sitting in her reserved seat. Since she had selected the window seat in advance, Castro waited while the child moved to their own designated seat.

The situation escalated when a different passenger began filming Castro without her consent. “What surprised me was the fact that a person who had nothing to do with the situation started filming me without permission, insulting me and trying to publicly embarrass me simply because I didn’t want to change seats,” Castro recalled.

The banker admitted the video’s public circulation and virality severely impacted her life both professionally and emotionally. “My life has changed a lot, so much so that today I am no longer in the field I worked in before,” she says. “At the height of the repercussions, I practically didn’t leave the house.” 

“I was also afraid,” she adds. “Because we know that, unfortunately, there are many bad people in the world.”

Castro says she is currently focused on healing, rebuilding her life, and advocating for rights around personal boundaries. Her legal proceedings are currently ongoing.

The Daily Dot has reached out to Jeniffer Castro via direct message on Instagram and email. The creator did not immediately respond to the request for comment.

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