Photo: @AnthonyBass52 / Twitter
He thinks that it is the flight crew's responsibility, but others are putting him in check for his entitlement.
By Megan Quinn — Written on Apr 18, 2023
An MLB player did not receive the response he was hoping for after he shared a negative experience he had while flying with his wife and children. People believe that he is neglecting his responsibilities as a parent to look after and discipline his children.
Anthony Bass complained after a flight attendant asked his pregnant wife to clean up the ‘popcorn mess’ left by his daughter.
Bass was met with criticism from fans after he took to Twitter to share his recent experience on the United Airlines flight. The Blue Jays pitcher posted a photo of his two young daughters seated side by side on the plane, occupied by their headphones and iPads. Popcorn litters the floor beneath them.
When a flight attendant approached and asked Bass’ wife to clean up the mess their children had left, he was not thrilled.
“The flight attendant just made my 22-week pregnant wife traveling with a five-year-old and two-year-old get on her hands and knees to pick up the popcorn mess by my youngest daughter Are you kidding me?!?!” he wrote.
While Bass clearly disagreed with the flight attendant, other Twitter users appeared not to.
They believed that it was Bass and his wife’s responsibility as parents to clean up after their children.
“Genuinely curious who should clean up the mess your 2-year-old made? As a parent of three kids, I am the one responsible for them,” one user commented.
“I'm unclear on what you think was wrong about asking someone to clean up a huge mess. Shouldn't your family have taken some effort to prevent the mess rather than just assuming someone else will take care of it?” another user wrote.
“Clean up after your own kids, have you no self-awareness or respect for anyone else?” another user asked.
Other users felt that the mother and father should have used the incident as a teaching lesson for their kids to learn how to clean up after themselves. Others asked why Bass did not pick up the popcorn himself if he was bothered that his pregnant wife was asked to do it.
When one user suggested that Bass and his wife refrain from bringing popcorn onto a plane since the children were going to make a mess with it, he argued that the popcorn was provided by United crew members on the flight.
He also claimed that the cleaning crew that is hired to clean the plane after a flight should have been responsible for cleaning up the popcorn.
United Airlines responded to Bass’ tweet via its own Twitter account.
“Hi there, Anthony. We certainly understand your concern and we'd like to look into this. When you have a moment, please DM your wife's confirmation number along with any additional details regarding her interaction with this crew member,” they wrote.
The baseball player thanked those who showed support and revealed that United Airlines was handling the situation with the flight attendant internally.
However, many people were unimpressed with his actions and believed he or his wife should have cleaned up their daughter’s mess themselves instead of blowing the entire situation out of proportion.
“You're going to get someone fired because your family can't control your kids and is unwilling to clean up after them when they throw things on the ground. Congratulations, this is the person you've become,” one Twitter user responded.
“Hopefully, they're giving her a bonus for dealing with your family's nonsense,” another commented.
Although others did not see the issue. “She was flying alone. With two kids. Pregnant,” one Twitter user claimed of Bass’ wife. “Just stop. We all have jobs. Crews do this every day. It's popcorn. Not puke. Vacuums work great.”
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.