Winnie Harlow Faces Backlash For Saying She Had To Give Up Business Class Seats On Recent Flight

Winnie Harlow took to Instagram on Wednesday to post a photo of herself flying in economy class on her flight out of Milan Fashion Week. Alongside, she included a message that told her followers that because of a last-minute cancellation of her flight, she was put on the next one out and had to give up her business class seat.

In the caption, the Canadian model writes that she hadn’t slept in four days and then found out her flight home was canceled. She goes on to say that her airport escort team was able to get her on the next flight out of Milan but that she had to give up her business seat in order to get back for a 6 a.m. fashion shoot.

The 25-year-old model ends her post by expressing her gratitude for God working in mysterious ways and everything happening for a reason.

In the photo, Winnie is pictured sleeping on her stylist Jordan Jay Brumant’s shoulder as she sits in the middle seat of the row and lifts her feet up on the seat next to her.

The model wears an army green, full-bodied Prada suit and white boots. Her long, straight dark hair is worn down and tucked behind her back. Viewers also get a glimpse of her full face of makeup, including thick black lashes and pink, glossy lips. A silver watch can be seen peeking out from her sleeve.

Winnie received backlash from many of her 6.8 million Instagram followers for her comment about having to give up her business class seat.

“People ride in those seats everyday so this really isn’t a big deal but ok,” one follower criticized.

“Ohhh I feel so bad for u. U needed to give up your business class tix. That must be soooo hard. Is that the only problem you have in your life??? Seriously,” another social media user wrote.

One other Instagram user took offense at Winnie’s comment thanking God for making sure she got home in time for the shoot despite the setback.

“Say thank you to the air travel agent, not god. They did the work.”

In a follow-up Instagram post, the Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit model defends herself against the haters, writing that her comment about having to give up her business class seats was not a complaint but just a simple statement.

“Me not flying in business is a statement, not a moan. If the class mattered I could’ve waited for the next availability. If I can post pictures in business class and be proud, I can also take pictures in coach and be proud. Proud that making it to work is more important to me than how I got there. That is the message.”