Jarrett “JT” Thomas took to his Instagram Story to explain why he caused a scene at the Charleston Airport over the weekend.
After the Southern Charm star was accused of offending staff during a potentially drunken outburst, JT spoke out, reacting to the allegations of a woman on Reddit, who claimed to have seen him “talking loudly” before an apparent spat with a flight attendant and their superior.
“I saw JT while at the Charleston airport this afternoon. He was talking loudly with one AirPod in his ear and limping like incredibly slowly,” the Reddit user wrote on the Southern Charm thread on March 24. “He rounded where I was sitting twice and seemed to want people to notice him. I noted to my husband he was a guy from Southern Charm and saw other people also whispering to their friends about him.”
Once seated on the plane, the person was greeted by a flight attendant who asked her spouse if he was JT. The attendant then went to the pilot, looking upset, before an off-duty crew member boarded the plane and sat next to her husband.
“I don’t know how it works, but maybe she was on standby and got his seat because he didn’t show up,” the Redditor continued. “She sits down and I’m like there has to be some reason that flight attendant was so upset and that he was also walking around the airport for a good while before the flight and isn’t here.”
After asking the crew member if JT had been “rude” to the flight attendant, the woman reportedly told her, “Oh yes, he came to the gate after boarding and claimed he was injured from an ATV accident and demanded to be let on to the plane,” and added that JT seemed to have come “straight from the bar.”
“He missed his flight to DC today, has a leg injury, and offended some airport staff,” the woman concluded.
Following the report, however, JT defended his behavior, saying that he was told he could not board the plane, despite having a ticket, and despite having a surgery scheduled for the following morning.
“True story: I walk with a cane now BUT [United] still felt the need to call two officers on me after a standby/oversold situation went horribly wrong,” JT explained on his Story, via Bravo and Cocktails on Instagram, also including an image of a couple of officers standing at the tunnel of a terminal.
“You see.. I had a ticket but one of their employees, a manager, was on standby and I was last to board the plane (terminal doors still open) keep in mind I’m still hobbling around after my ATV crash.. the employee sees [I’m] injured and I say I have surgery in the AM.. and she says sorry…and looks at her superior and gives the nod. The superior says sorry nothing I can do and takes my seat,” JT continued. “I think it’s fair that I made a scene for this as an injured middle aged man with a cane this seems on brand.”
Southern Charm season 10 is expected to go into production sometime in the coming weeks.