Director Kevin Smith ‘Too Fat’ to fly Southwest; ‘Clerks’ Writer/Director Tweets Rage at Airline…

“Silent Bob” Thrown Off Southwest Flight For Being Too Large

Director Kevin Smith ‘too fat’ to fly Southwest; ‘Clerks’ writer/director tweets rage at airline

By Michael Sheridan
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

He may like to make you laugh, but “Silent Bob” found nothing funny about being kicked off a plane for being fat.

Kevin Smith, director of the upcoming Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan laugher, “Cop Out,” turned to Twitter to vent his frustrations Saturday after allegedly getting booted from a Southwest Airlines flight.

“I know I’m fat,” the 39-year-old wrote via Twitter. “But was Captain Leysath [sic] really justified in throwing me off a flight for which I was already seated?”

The writer and director of “Clerks” and “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back” let loose in the tweet tirade after allegedly being told by a flight attendant he was a “safety risk” as he was about to fly from Oakland to Burbank.

“I’m way fat,” Smith tweeted, “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’.”

Southwest uses the armrests has a factor in determining whether a passenger must purchase an extra seat becauase of their size. According to their website, “It serves as the boundary between seats and measures 17 inches in width,” it states.

“Customers who are unable to lower both armrests and/or who compromise any portion of adjacent seating should proactively book the number of seats needed prior to travel.”

Smith wrote he was offered a $100 voucher by the airline, and noted he eventually flew on a Southwest flight despite the incident.

Southwest Airlines has not officially commented on Smith’s claims. They did, however, tweet responses to the New Jersey-born director via their own Twitter account.

“I read every single tweet that comes into this account, and take every tweet seriously,” a spokesperson for the airline wrote. “We’ll handle @thatkevinsmith issue asap.”

Another message was directed at Smith himself. “I’m so sorry for your experience tonight! Hopefully we can make things right.”

Smith has discussed his longtime battle with his weight many times in the past, once noting that he once broke a toilet.

“I cannot cognitively reframe it and be like, ‘It wasn’t me — it was the toilet.’ It was definitely me,” he said in an interview for the Los Angeles Times in 2008. “And that’s a wake-up call!”