Think every celeb gets the VIP treatment when flying on commercial airlines? That's not the case, if Kristin Chenoweth's latest aviation woes tell us anything.
The Broadway darling, best known for her roles onstage in "Wicked" and on well-received TV shows like "Pushing Daisies" and "The West Wing," tried to board an American Airlines flight from Dallas to Los Angeles on Tuesday with her service dog in tow -- until an airline employee tried to intercept her.Well, gosh! And I didn't even know she was blind! Or deaf!
Or...whatever it is she needs a 'service dog' for.
TMZ reports that a flight attendant confronted Chenoweth about bringing the dog aboard, claiming she did not have the proper paperwork. When Chenoweth, who always travels with the dog, said she had taken all the proper steps, the flight attendant reportedly erupted, yelling at the actress in front of other passengers. Chenoweth burst into tears, and it wasn't until then that the airline employees recognized their mistake and allowed her to board with the dog.Hmmm, there may be 'no crying in baseball!' but clearly, there is in first class - and it works!
But wait, back to her disability. What sort of 'service dog' does she have?
Chenoweth said in a followup tweet that Maddie is her emotional support dog.Her... her what?!?
In an interview with Prevention magazine Chenoweth said she suffers from Meniere's disease.
According to the Mayo Clinic, "Meniere's disease is a disorder of the inner ear that causes spontaneous episodes of vertigo — a sensation of a spinning motion — along with fluctuating hearing loss, ringing in the ear (tinnitus), and sometimes a feeling of fullness or pressure in your ear."And a tiny ball of fluff helps you with that, how, exactly? Good grief, I didn't know being a whiny, hyper-entitled drama queen was a disability!
Yet. I'm sure some people are working on it...
Having a close relative with Menieres, I should think that the dog is irrelevant; it helps, however, to have a support bucket (or similar receptacle) to hand to deal with the sudden onset of vomiting that goes with a bad attack.
ReplyDeleteOn closer inspection, the bag in which the dog is travelling looks ideal for the purpose; perhaps the dog is merely there to camouflage this useful accessory?
FFS! The sooner we call a spade a spade the better. She does not need a dog on a flight because of Menieres (nasty though Menieres can be). The woman is a fruitcake and surrendering to her fruitcake wishes and tantrums makes it all the harder for the poor sod who next has to deal with this.
ReplyDeleteSOME blind people need guide dogs. SOME deaf people need hearing dogs. Fruitcake (minor) celebs with an ear problem do not.
"Meniere's disease is a disorder of the inner ear"
ReplyDeleteA trip in an airliner must work wonders for that! Perhaps she should have demanded the carrier provided a plane with pressurisation set to keep sea level conditions even at 35,000ft...
I judge people on how well I think they would do in a zombie holocaust.
ReplyDeleteThis woman is someone you would throw to a pursuing herd of zombies in order to slow them down and make your escape.
I can think of no other reason for her existence.
I have Menieres and people like this are making a mockery of a serious and, at times, debilitating disease.
ReplyDeleteAn attack of Menieres can be described as follows:
Imagine you're walking on ice. You slip. That fraction of second where you're off balance and about to fall? Take that and make it last for hours... Horrible.
How a fucking DOG can help with that is beyond me.
XX Bucko The Moose said...
ReplyDeleteI can think of no other reason for her existence. XX
I.E.D clearence? Troops short of sandbags for their bunkers in Iraq? Decoy dummy for confusing Somali pirates?
SURE she could be usefull.
XX Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteAn attack of Menieres can be described as follows:
Imagine you're walking on ice. You slip. That fraction of second where you're off balance and about to fall? Take that and make it last for hours...XX
I am working with people with Parkisons at present, and they decribe very similar.
Aye, how can a bloody mutt help? Unless it acts as something soft to fall on.
Bunny
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard of her before, I probably will never hear of her again, thank God for that.
FT - I stand corrected. All valid uses.
ReplyDeleteLife immitating cartoons. This reminds me of a Simpsons episode where Homer gets a 'helper monkey', Mojo, to do all his chores for him.
ReplyDeleteEmotional support dog FFS!
Alan Shepherd, America's first man in space, had Ménière's disease from 1663-69. He still flew supersonic T-38 jets (with another pilot in the back seat) and served as Chief of the Astronaut Office.
ReplyDeleteOh, and he lobbied to get back into space; had a secret and risky operation to fix the problem; got his flight status back; and flew Apollo 14 to the most accurate of all the Moon landings.
Wikipedia does not record whether or not he had a dog.
U.S. Department of Justice
ReplyDeleteCivil Rights Division
Disability Rights Section:
Definition of Service Animals:
Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.
The bitch should have been kicked off.
ReplyDelete"...perhaps the dog is merely there to camouflage this useful accessory?"
ReplyDeleteGiven the strange attraction vomit seems to have for dogs, not a successful one, I'm sure!
"The woman is a fruitcake and surrendering to her fruitcake wishes and tantrums makes it all the harder for the poor sod who next has to deal with this."
We don't learn from our mistakes any more, do we?
"I judge people on how well I think they would do in a zombie holocaust.
This woman is someone you would throw to a pursuing herd of zombies in order to slow them down and make your escape."
Isn't the usual goal of pursuing zombies 'Braaaaaaains!'..?
Just sayin'.. ;)
"How a fucking DOG can help with that is beyond me."
My friend's father has just been diagnosed with it. As a doughty Cockney ex-greengrocer used to crack-of-dawn hard work, the thought of suggesting an 'emotional comfort dog' as a possible remedy...
Hmm. No!
" Unless it acts as something soft to fall on."
ReplyDeleteShe'd need a Newfoundland, then!
"I'd never heard of her before, I probably will never hear of her again, thank God for that."
I was familiar only from her stint in 'The West Wing', where I think she just played herself..
"Wikipedia does not record whether or not he had a dog."
*chuckles*
"The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA."
And yet the airline caved in - as Dr Cromarty points out, making a rod for their own backs.
"Isn't the usual goal of pursuing zombies 'Braaaaaaains!'..?"
ReplyDeleteHeh! Oh yeah.