Woman Calls Out 'Racist' Passenger Then Stuck Next to Him on 4-Hour Flight

A Black woman called out an airline passenger sitting next to her after she caught him texting racist and homophobic comments.

"I wasn't going to say anything, but I decided I want you to feel as uncomfortable as I do, and I want you to know that I saw your text messages and I think you're disgusting," she said in the TikTok clip that went viral over the weekend. When the passenger apologizes after being shamed, the social media user retorts: "you're sorry because I saw it." She did not identify the airline, the date of the flight or the passenger in her TikTok posts documenting the recent incident.

TikTok user Taila Rouse, who goes by taila.thecreator on the popular social media platform, said she "happened to glance over" at the other passenger's phone. The man was sharing a row with her during a four-hour flight from Puerto Rico to Atlanta last week. When she looked over, she saw the words "big black woman" on his phone, so she said she continued reading.

"Yes I could've minded my own business, but why should I let him slide," she questioned in the viral TikTok that amassed more than 13 million views as of Sunday night, just one day after being shared. In the post, which also garnered nearly three million likes and roughly 60,000 comments, Taila Rouse can be heard assailing the passenger next to her in the middle seat.

"He and his family went on and on about the woes of being stuck sitting next to Black and gay people," she said in the caption. "Then I see this man say he hopes airlines continue to raise prices so these people get weeded out. If you're gonna be bold enough to pull your phone out in the middle seat of an airplane and freely talk disrespectfully about Black people, then I'm going to be bold enough to say something to you."

Newsweek reached out via email and social media to Taila Rouse.

Such instances aren't uncommon. Earlier this year, a video of an alleged "racist encounter" on a WestJet flight went viral on TikTok, where it had millions of views. A 2022 clip, which also went viral on the social media platform, showed a Spirit Airlines passenger screaming about "racism" in a Las Vegas airport.

According to 2022 report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), there has been "a long-term trend of increasing frequency and severity of unruly passenger incidents," which can include harassment and verbal abuse.

A spokesperson for IATA told Newsweek previously: "Passengers and crew have the right to expect to enjoy their flight free from any form of disturbance. Airlines and crew take any reports of racial and other forms of harassment very seriously. It is essential that any passenger [who] is either the victim of harassment or witnesses it inform a member of the cabin crew immediately so that safeguarding steps can be taken."

Tammy Jones, spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration, told Newsweek in an email that the rate of unruly passenger incidents has "dropped by over 80 percent since record-highs in early 2021 but unacceptable behavior continues to occur."

In 2023, so far, there have been more than 700 reports of such behavior.

It is unclear if Taila Rouse filed a formal complaint with the airline or FAA. However, she did respond to several comments on her viral TikTok, addressing some of the most frequent follow-up questions about her ordeal in subsequent videos.

When asked how the rest of the flight went after she confronted the man for his text message thread, she said he did not move seats and they were stuck sitting next to each other.

"He wouldn't even think in my direction when the plane landed," Taila Rouse said in the post, which shows a video clip of the passenger turned away from her.

One user attempted to shame her for looking at someone else's phone screen, complaining in a profanity laced comment that people "can't even send texts to our family about how unpleasant you people are."

In response to the user, Taila Rouse shared a zoomed-in video of the middle-seat passenger's controversial text thread. The clip displayed several of the derogatory messages with the caption: "Not in the middle seat sitting next to me, NO." That TikTok clip received 1.7 million views as of Sunday evening.

She said that person's comment "is exactly why I did what I did. I started recording after reading more than one racist/homophobic remark...At this point the text was for me."

She also replied to one of the numerous TikTok users praising her for calling out the man's racist behavior and shedding light on the situation. In another clip that went viral, she thanked everyone who expressed "appreciation" for her decision to publicly shame the passenger.

"Blood boiling, I sat with myself for a while on this one trying to decide what I wanted to do-if anything at all. Ultimately ya'll saw the decision I made. Story time soon," she said in a TikTok, which garnered more than 800,000 views.

As the wave of support for Taila Rouse continues to mount, several TikTok users also commended her for addressing the situation without revealing the passenger's identity.

"The fact that you didn't put his identity out here.. class act 💯💯 better than me 😅" one person said in a comment that received more than 4,000 likes.