Director Kevin Smith Kicked Off Plane for Being Too Fat

[Newsbot]

So much for flying the friendly skies.

Mallrats director Kevin Smith, 39, was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland, Calif. to Burbank, Calif. over the weekend because of his weight.

Smith (whose newest film, Cop Out, starring Bruce Willis, opens Feb. 26) posted more than 50 angry Twitter messages to his more than 1.6 million followers decrying the airline in the following 24 hours.

As he explained on the microblogging site, the plane's captain had him removed from a plane after he was deemed a "safety risk."

"I know I'm fat, but was Captain Leysath really justified in throwing me off a flight for which I was already seated?" he ranted. "Again: I'm way fat... But I'm not THERE just yet. But if I am, why wait til my bag is up, and I'm seated WITH ARM RESTS DOWN. In front of a packed plane with a bunch of folks who'd already I.d.ed me as 'Silent Bob.'"

The airline offered him a $100 voucher as an apology (which he refused) and put him on another flight, but he still wasn't pleased.

"Thank God I don't embarrass easily (bless you, JERSEY GIRL training). But I don't sulk off either: so everyday, some new [expletive]-you Tweets for @SouthwestAir," he wrote. "You [expletive] with the wrong sedentary processed-foods eater!"

Shortly after, he posted a photo of himself puffing out his cheeks and captioned it, "Look how fat I am on your plane! Quick! Throw me off!"

The director also joked with fans, including one who encouraged him to start his own airline. "More room for everyone! If they build it, I'd certainly fly it. 'Fly the Flabby Skies!'" he wrote.

Smith also mocked "The @SouthwestAir Diet. How it works: you're publicly shamed into a slimmer figure. Crying the weight right off has never been easier!"

After landing in Southern California, Smith wrote, "I've landed in Burbank. Don't worry: wall of the plane was opened & I was airlifted out while Richard Simmons supervised."

Southwest Airlines apologized to the director via Twitter, and blogged a longer statement on Sunday afternoon -- in which it pointed out that Smith usually purchases two seats every time he travels.

The question here shouldn't be weather or not Southwest was right or wrong on kicking Smith off the plane. It should be "why the hell is Kevin fucking Smith flying Southwest?"

[anarky]

This version of the article omits that he had bought two tickets on one flight, as he supposedly always does, because he doesn't like sitting next to people (which is odd, since Southwest allows you to seat yourself, but, hey, he thought Clerks II was a good idea, so he's a bit touched in the head), then switched to standby on another flight with only one ticket. Chances are, sight unseen, they thought it was a bit strange that a dude who saw fit to buy two seats for himself on a seat-yourself flight suddenly wanted one.

Or maybe the captain felt ripped off for having wasting time on the aforementioned Clerks II and wanted to get revenge in any way possible.

[Sleazer]

Why you gotta hate on Clerks Deux? I loved that movie.

[Diabolical]

Why you gotta hate on Clerks Deux? I loved that movie.

Word.

[anarky]

I'll praise every previous movie he did (haven't seen Zack and Miri yet), but Clerks II was a mess of a movie that couldn't decide if it was a sequel to the first movie or the animated series, and most of the jokes fell flatter than a shaken-up bottle of RC Cola.

[Sleazer]

*sigh*
Nark, I owe you an apology...you played it well, that was a well crafted comedic response to the initial news post so I should have let you roll with it.

I disagree with you on the quality of Clerks II but I shouldn't let that overshadow your post in this setting, so I'm sorry.

[Ran]

Why you gotta hate on Clerks Deux? I loved that movie.

Word.

Word + 1

[anarky]

I long ago realized people hate me when I say I thought Clerks II was something less than the second coming. I also realized it can be hazardous to my health to admit I liked Jersey Girl.

Okay, I exaggerate, but I have met people, been talking about random shit, and somehow Kevin Smith comes up, and he or she would complain about Jersey Girl, to which I'd respond something like "I liked Jersey Girl; it showed he has more range," and, no shit, the conversation has abruptly ended. That happened three or four times, I swear, and I finally learned not to admit even having seen it.

[Diabolical]

I also really liked Jersey Girl. You're totally right that it showed more range. He proved he isn't just dick and fart jokes (although there were a few in Jersey Girl, IIRC).
And Carlin is fucking amazing in that flick.

Clerks 2 wasn't perfect, but none of Smith's movies are. For me the good always eclipses the bad. C2 hit a few too many throwback lines or gags (much like the A New Hope reunion is Revenge of the Sith), but it really doesn't bother me. I feel the new stuff is great and C2 was a great bookend to his Askewniverse.

I don't hate you for not liking Clerks 2. I guess it's just my Mystery Men.
And I'm sure I'd be roasted on a die hard Smith board for this, but I own every one of his flicks on DVD except Chasing Amy. Even though I like the movie, I've never felt to NEED to own it and/or pay $15 for it.

[Sleazer]

Nark, I don't hate you for hating Clerks 2 (but I do hate you for liking TPM more than AOTC and ROTS - just kidding).

I guess I'm on the 3rd side of this fence along with Diabolical in that I love Clerks 2 AND Jersey Girl. Awesome movie.
I liked it enough to have him signed a DVD of that flick at Wizard World several years ago. I asked him to sign that one to my name and then I also had him sign a Silent Bob pic made out to "Lunchbox" instead of my name.

I'm looking forward to seeing Cop Out soon...I think it's dumb of the studio to change the name but it won't change the content of the movie, which is what I care about.

As for the topic of getting kicked off the flight, I think my favorite comment I heard from Kev is when he referred to his "processed food eating" - hilarious!

[vynsane]

i liked jersey girl. i liked clerks II. in fact, there's not a single smith flick, animated series, or comic book that i've seen or read and not enjoyed on some level. hell, the guy got me to read 'green arrow' for chrissake.

plus, i like to think we had a hand in making 'zack and miri' because of the phantom manass.

[The Phantom ManAss]

plus, i like to think we had a hand in making 'zack and miri' because of the phantom manass.

You better believe I had a hand in it. As well as a foot! It was squishy.

[Bizarro The Grin]

i REALLY LIKE kEVIN sMITH.

yOU KNOW THE OLD SAYING, "tHE BIGGER THE CUSHION, THE SWEETER THE PUSHIN'."

[Sleazer]

If you ever heard his story on Threevening about his anal fissures...you probably would rethink that statement.

[Bizarro The Grin]

aND WHY WOULD i? hE HAS A KID, IT'S MY JOB TO FUCK HIS BUTT. tHAT'S JUST THE WAY IT GOES. hELL, i'VE GOT TO TOSS FUCKING mICHAEL mOORE'S SWEATY ASS-SALAD SEVEN TIMES A FUCKING WEEK. tHIS JOB AIN'T ALL SHITS AND GIGGLES, WHICH IS WHY i LOVE IT WHEN SOMEONE IS SUCH AN AWESOME FUCK AS kEVIN sMITH.