Current situation @AmericanAir .. insane.
An Instagram model who is famous for her bikini selfies was kicked off of a flight in Miami after a heated argument with a pilot. TMZ reports that Jen Selter was traveling along with her sister to New York City on the night of January 27 when the altercation occurred. The American Airlines flight had been grounded for more than 90 minutes. A passenger sitting beside Selter got him to use the restroom when Selter also stood up to put something in the overhead storage bin. Selter kept her millions of followers updated on the incident via her Twitter page.
At that point, a flight attendant intervened and the conversation began. When asked if she would like to be thrown off the plane, Selter sarcastically replied, “Yes.” Then the pilot got involved and Selter, her sister and another pilot was removed from the flight. The TMZ report adds that one passenger called the crew “racist” and added, “We are living in Trump’s America.” The article concludes with the information that Selter and her sister made it to New York early on January 29. Stelter did however tweet, “Never flying @AmericanAir again.”
Here’s what you need to know about Jen Selter:
1. Selter Has Repeatedly Been Linked to New York Knicks Star Kristaps Porzingis
For quite a while, Selter has been linked with New York Knicks’ star Kristaps Porzingis. When Selter attended the Knicks loss to the Bulls earlier in January 2018, Selter told the New York Post that the pair were merely “friends.” Though Selter’s mother, Jill Weinstein, said, “You never know. [Porzingis] was great as always.”
Back in 2014, Selter said about dating, “Fame is not affecting my dating life. I’m 20, playing the field and having a blast.” In April 2017, TMZ reported that Selter was dating Big Time Rush singer James Maslow after the pair met at a Maxim party in Mexico during Spring Break.
2. Selter Has Said of Her Career: ‘I’m Not Going to Do Anything I Don’t Personally Believe In’
Instagram/Jen Selter
When Selter began to hit the mainstream in 2014, she gave an interview to Fox News in which she said, “I’ve worked hard to get to this point and I’m not going to do anything I don’t personally believe in. I’m fortunate to have started from the ground up, I don’t feel pressure to do everything I’m asked. I want my followers to know I’m a genuine person who wants the best for them.” Selter’s mainstream push came after she signed with the Legacy Agency.
In July 2017, the Daily Telegraph reported that Selter was making $15,000 per sponsored Instagram post.
3. Selter’s Fitness Journey Began By Working at Gym While She Was in High School
According to her Fit Plan profile, Selter describes her fitness journey saying that she began by working at the reception desk at a gym in Long Island while in high school in Roslyn Heights, New York. Dealing with typical high school stress, Selter began working out and started an Instagram account in order to keep herself motivated. That bio describes Selter as a “pioneer of the digital age” and the innovator of the “belfie.” A belfie is a selfie photo taken from behind.
The New York Post reported in 2014 that Selter quit her job when she hit 500,000 Instagram followers. At the time of writing, Selter has 11.7 million followers on the social media site.
4. Prior to Her Instagram Fame, Selter Has Been Open in the Past About the Bullying She Received in Her Teenage Years
In April 2010, prior to her fame, People Magazine covered Selter’s bullying problems at high school. The article detailed that Selter had been bullied via Facebook over her nose with comments like, “You look like a pelican.” At age 15, Selter had a nose job under New York City surgeon Sam Rizk. Selter said, “I’m more comfortable with myself now, happier and confident. And I have so many more pictures of myself on Facebook!” Selter told People that she saw a therapist before the surgery to ensure she was emotionally ready for the operation.
In 2014, Selter said of the nose job, “I grew up in Long Island. I’m Jewish. Jewish girls have big noses. Probably 1 out of 3 girls I know [has] a nose job.” Selter also said that, “My body’s all real… from the boobs down.”
The New York Post reported in 2014 that Selter worked for a time at plastic surgeon’s office after leaving high school. Selter’s mother, Jill Weinstein, said of her daughter in the Post piece, “I’m very proud of her because this is a girl who didn’t want to go to college, and she was able to build up this social media in such a way that she has become famous and she is an inspiration and motivation for so many people.” Weinstein added that she just hopes her daughter doesn’t end up in Playboy.
5. Selter Is By No Means the First Person to Have Trouble With American Airlines
Selter is not the first passenger to have an issue with American Airlines. In October 2017, activist Tamika Mallory, the national co-chair of the Women’s March movement, was removed from an American Airlines flight, also from Miami to New York City. Mallory said on Twitter that a gate agent had been “nasty” and “disrespectful.” Mallory later told the New York Daily News about the ordeal saying, “It definitely was white male aggression. I was singled out, I was disrespected, and he was trying to intimidate me.”
Two years earlier, a woman named Tiana Faugh was kicked off of an American Airlines flight from Phoenix to Portland. A video of Faugh being removed and passengers booing went viral. Faugh later said she didn’t know the reason for her removal and explained she had been trying to get home to Oregon to her husband and two young sons.
More recently, in December 2017, two minor league professional basketball players, Marquis Teague and Trahson Burrell were kicked off of a flight going from Dallas to South Dakota after being accused of stealing blankets, that accusation was proved to be false.
