Actress sues WestJet as the airline turns her into the villain

When Korean American actress Charlet Chung stepped onto WestJet Flight 1314 from Los Angeles to Winnipeg last October, she expected an uneventful trip. Instead, she says she endured four and a half hours of humiliation and discrimination, culminating in a yearlong battle against a Canadian airline that continues to insist nothing happened.

Now, after attempts at resolution went nowhere, Chung has taken the fight to federal court with a defamation lawsuit that lays bare the unequal power dynamics many minority women face—especially in confined spaces where authority is absolute, and accountability is optional.

According to her complaint and multiple public statements, the ordeal began almost immediately after boarding. A white male passenger seated directly behind Chung allegedly spent more than 20 minutes repeatedly kicking and pushing her seat. Not knowing whether the aggressor was a child or an adult, Chung turned around to check—only to be met with a furious outburst.
“Oh, just chill out. F*ck off,” she recalls him saying.

Startled and hoping for help, Chung flagged down a flight attendant who happened to walk over. Instead of listening to Chung’s explanation, she alleges, the crew member accepted the man’s flat denial without question. The flight attendant, identified in the TikTok video as “Tricia,” immediately treated Chung as the problem.

“Instead of helping me, the WestJet flight attendant sided with the white male passenger without inquiry, assumed I was the instigator, and treated me with condescension and threats,” Chung wrote in her recent public statement. The crew member allegedly warned that Chung could be removed from the aircraft and insisted she stop filming the encounter. Only after realizing she was already recording did the attendant’s tone shift.

But by then, Chung says the damage was done. She was forced to leave her seat and moved elsewhere—an act she describes not as a safety measure, but as punishment for speaking up. For the remainder of the 4.5-hour flight, she claims, flight attendants “kept tabs” on her, spoke to her rudely during food service, snickered within earshot, and continued to treat her as an unruly passenger rather than someone seeking protection.

Her lawsuit notes that even basic needs were affected; at one point, she alleges she was discouraged from using the restroom. The experience, she said, was “an unending cycle of bullying, intimidation, and public shaming.”

The flight ended, but her nightmare did not. After Chung posted her video online, it went viral—garnering more than 14 million views. With public attention mounting, WestJet issued a statement claiming that its internal investigation found “no evidence” of harassment, discrimination, or crew misconduct. The airline insisted her allegations were “unfounded,” and refused to retract or amend its statement even after Chung tried for months to correct the record through her legal team.

For Chung, WestJet’s dismissal struck deeper than the incident itself. As an actress whose voice is known globally—she is the voice behind “D.Va” in Overwatch, one of the most iconic video game characters of the last decade—credibility is part of her livelihood. To be publicly branded a liar by one of North America’s largest carriers, she says, inflicted professional harm and personal humiliation. “Their statement defamed me and damaged my career,” she said.

What makes her lawsuit even more striking is that the male passenger who insulted her later sent a formal apology letter, expressing “sincere regret for his inappropriate behavior” and acknowledging how poorly the flight attendant treated her. WestJet, however, has maintained its position, stating that its review—conducted without ever speaking to Chung—was fair.

The lawsuit argues the opposite: that WestJet conducted a one-sided and unreliable investigation, relying solely on crew members and the offending passenger while ignoring the evidence she recorded. It accuses the airline not only of mishandling the initial incident but also of publishing a “false and defamatory” statement that harmed her reputation. The suit also invokes the Montreal Convention, arguing that the airline is liable for physical and emotional harm inflicted during the flight.

For more than a year, Chung attempted to reach a resolution quietly. She says WestJet “strung her along,” delayed communication, and ultimately “ghosted” her. Only then did she decide to file suit—not for monetary gain, she insists, but because she “will not be bullied into silence.”

Chung’s fight is bigger than a single confrontation on a single flight. It raises uncomfortable but necessary questions about how airlines exercise power—and whom they choose to believe. In the viral video, viewers can watch a crew member repeatedly characterize Chung as “belligerent,” even though her recording shows a passenger who appears distressed, not disruptive. The discrepancy echoes a dynamic many women of color recognize instantly: the presumption of being the aggressor even while seeking help.

Chung’s defamation lawsuit stands as a rare challenge to an industry often shielded by legal deference and public indifference. Her decision to speak out—and now to fight back—forces a long-overdue scrutiny of how airlines treat vulnerable passengers when they believe no one will hold them accountable.

For four and a half hours, Charlet Chung says she felt powerless. In court, she is demanding to be heard.

By Mooyoung Lee [lee.mooyoung@koreadaily.com]