An American influencer has been put on blast by Europeans after a video of her hysterically crying after she was rejected from a Ryanair flight in Porto, Portugal, went viral on TikTok, with the video now amassing more than 1.4 million views in just three days.
It’s no secret that Ryanair isn’t known for its great customer service or for having super helpful staff, but this particular video has achieved what could be considered possible: Europeans are rallying around the airline in its defense.
@joleenw @Ryanair u have lost a genuine customer because I have never ever been treated like I was by isabella at ur Porto location, ever in my life. It’s very clear how you treat your customers, and I would rather pay an extra $300 for a ticket than be treated like this and just plain out scammed. I am the most positive and happy person, and to be treated harassed like this is extremely disappointing and disheartening. I would think twice before flying them #ryanair #ryanaircrew #ryanairstories #neverflyryanair ♬ original sound – joleenw
“I will never fly Ryanair ever again,” Boston-based American influencer Joleen Weiss says at the start of the two-and-a-half-minute video that has propelled her to a new level of fame.
Joleen says she got to the airport so late that check-in had already closed, so she had to proceed through security with the luggage that should have been placed in the hold of the aircraft.
“As soon as I get up to the gate, this f**king lady, she f**king sees me recording,” Joleen says.
The gate agent demands that Joleen delete the video and show her that she has also wiped it from her ‘recently deleted’ folder… if she didn’t comply, the gate agent threatened to call the police.
To make matters worse, a second gate agent then demands an additional $75 to gate check Joleen’s bag.
“I’m like, whatever,” Joleen says. “And she’s giving me the most f**king attitude, and I didn’t do anything. I walked up to the gate, I’m smiling, I’m like, ‘thank god I didn’t miss my flight. She’s immediately being a b**ch to me. I’m sorry you’re f**king miserable. I would be too if I were you and had that kind of attitude on life.”
Nonetheless, Joleen pays the additional $75 gate check fee and goes to board the aircraft. As she passes the female gate agent, she then says:
“I’m like, you know, you’re a b**ch, and it costs zero dollars to be nice to someone.”
With this comment, Joleen is immediately removed from the flight.
“F**k Ryanair, literally never flying with them again. Rudest f**king people ever. And they won’t give me a refund… It’s crazy, genuinely crazy.”
“I can’t believe you’ve made the whole of Europe side with Ryanair,” one person wrote in response to Joleen’s video. Another person wrote: “I’ve flown Ryanair for almost every flight for the last 10 years and I’ve never been refused boarding, but then I’ve also never verbally abused the gate staff, so that might be why?”
“When you said Ryanair I was so ready to be on your side,” wrote a third person to which someone else replied: “Until she said the rest.”
This is, perhaps, one of the craziest examples of entitled influencer behavior – shocked and appalled that she was removed from a flight after cussing out the gate agent.
Should the gate agent have been more professional? It certainly sounds like it, but different cultural norms can take Americans by surprise. After all, data protection laws in Portugal make recording images of other people a legally tricky minefield unless you explicitly get their consent.
Add to the mix that this occurred in a secure part of an airport, where the rules are very different from those in the United States.
In any case, I think it’s fair to assume that one person’s rudeness does not give you the right to cuss them out… Especially when they have the power to decide if you’re going to get on a plane or not.
What’s even more bizarre is that Joleen admits to using insulting language against the gate, which could even constitute a criminal offense in Portugal. It’s probably a good thing that she doesn’t plan to ever fly with the airline again.
