America’s Next Top Model Deaf Winner Was Given A Wheelchair By United Airlines

"Ooh a deaf person, give him a wheelchair."

There are a lot of people who need assistance at the airport, such as those who require a wheelchair for various reasons. Nyle DiMarco, the winner of Cycle 22 of America’s Next Top Model, however, is not one of those people.

The 29-year-old American model, actor, and deaf activist was was offered a wheelchair when he got off a United Airlines flight which was meant to help him get through the airport. However, Nyle can get around without assistance and was understandably unhappy with the incident.

Nyle said in an interview:

“This time I found their ignorance funny. How hearing people associate deaf with inability to walk astounds me.

Of course not to say that all deaf people do not need a wheelchair or some sort of assistance. But it is just that I never requested one.”

Shockingly, Nyle noted that this is not the first time that he was offered a wheelchair.

Nyle added:

“When it happened the first few times I felt frustrated because the airlines have acknowledged and apologized, but it is clear that they’ve never pushed for change, nor have they trained their employees.”

The model wasn’t very happy about it and decided to tweet United Airlines on Sunday. He posted a video of himself walking by a wheelchair with his name on it. Nyle then captioned it, “Ooh a deaf person, give him a wheelchair.”

Unfortunately, Nyle was not the first to experience it. Chella Man, who is a deaf activist and a model, shared that he experienced the same thing.

He wrote:

“Love when @united thinks I need a wheelchair because I am Deaf.”

After the backlash, United Airlines released a statement:

“United is dedicated to providing convenient and comfortable service to all of our customers.

We do not require information concerning the extent of a disability, however, the more information we have, the better prepared we are to meet our customers’ needs.”