October 8, 2024 17:30 PM

Everything You Need To Know About #PlaneBae, A Digital Love Story That’s Actually An Invasion Of Privacy

A woman who posted a viral twitter thread about a couple sitting in front of her on a plane has issued an apology after criticisms.

Rosey Blair's story about two strangers who allegedly formed a romantic link after sitting next to each other on a plane fascinated thousands of people on the internet. Blair documented their interaction through a series of images and clips.

The two people involved in Blair's story are Euan Holden, a former professional football player, and a woman named Helen, who has allegedly faced harassment online after the story was uploaded. This has forced her to delete her social media profiles. The woman, known as #PrettyPlaneGirl on Twitter has finally spoken up on the "Plane Bae" story and has slammed her fellow passengers for inventing the false narrative of her romantic connection with Holden.

The Story

The viral tale began on July 3, after Blair tweeted photos and updates of a love story that unfolded before her on her New York City to Dallas Alaska Airlines flight.

Blair asked Helen if she could change seats with her so she could sit next to her boyfriend, Houston Hardaway, and thankfully, she obliged. Blair even joked with Hardaway that the woman may be meeting the love of her life, which is her seatmate.

She then began photographing the pair from her seat which was situated in front of them. Blair even documented their conversation throughout the trip and took pictures of them after deplaning as the pair walked through the airport.

Blair's tweets became viral and gathered more than 30,000 likes, as well as hopeful and excited reactions from many Twitter users that the two would end up together. Even TV personality Monica Lewinsky tweeted about the story.

The male passenger who was revealed to be Holden became known as #PlaneBae throughout social media. He even appeared on a number of shows including Good Morning America to talk about the viral story and said the woman was a very lovely girl.

Issued Apologies And Helen's Narrative

After, the online community changed its opinion on the story and declared it as an invasion of #PrettyPlaneGirl's privacy. Holden himself even asked people online to respect the woman's privacy despite naming her. This led social media users to track down the woman.

Blair has also published an apology on Twitter, saying that she did not foresee the exploitative nature of what she did. She added that the last thing she wanted is to remove agency and autonomy from another woman.

Blair also addressed Helen directly and said that she wished she saw her message and apologized for making what could have been a nice moment among strangers into her own narrative. Even Lewinsky apologized for her initial reaction.

On July 13, #PrettyPlaneGirl ended her silence and spoke out to Business Insider through her lawyer, Wesley Mullen of Mullen PC.

She said that secretly photographing and recording her conversations with her seatmate, they have concluded unfairly about her private behavior. Helen added that because of what happened, she had been insulted, harassed and shamed. People even came looking for her online and the real world.

She added that #PlaneBae should not be considered as a romance because it is an invasion of privacy, identity, consent, and ethics in the digital age.

Tags
Twitter, Romance
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