University of Ottawa law and epidemiology professor Amir Attaran is facing international backlash for shaming a maskless United Airlines flight attendant on social media.
On Saturday, Attaran posted a picture of a flight attendant on a United flight from Ottawa to Chicago and accused the airline of breaking the law because “masks are required on all flights out of Canada.”
Transport Canada says masks are mandatory on all flights to and from Canada, a policy that has created confusion given that masking is not required on planes in America.
“Canada is not the USA, you f***ers,” said Attaran, who added that United should be banned from operating flights to Canada for not following the Trudeau government’s mask mandates.
Attaran’s online conduct was quickly criticized by Canadian and international figures from all sides of the political spectrum.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spokesperson Christina Pushaw called the University of Ottawa professor’s actions creepy, and suggested he should not fly if he “can’t handle seeing someone’s face.”
Pushaw also called out United’s response to Attaran and accused the airline of throwing its employees under the bus. United had thanked Attaran for bringing the issue to their attention.
Fox News personality Greg Gutfeld and BlazeTv podcast host Elijah Schaffer also reacted to Attaran’s tweets.
Progressive personalities including Huffington Post contributor Yashar Ali and former The Young Turks correspondent Emma Vigeland also criticized Attaran’s actions.
Do you know what kind of hell flight attendants have been through during this pandemic? Dealing with harassment and bullying nonstop? And you post this poor woman’s photo and target her?
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) June 19, 2022
And then admit later she didn’t even know? https://t.co/kPVLbLQPeS
Meanwhile, former University of Toronto professor Jordan Peterson reacted to Attaran’s tweets by calling him a “pathetic ranfink” and a “horrible piece of work.”
Attaran responded to Peterson’s criticism by claiming he was a baby. He also challenged him to a public debate in Ottawa.
This is not the first time that the University of Ottawa professor has caused controversy for his conduct on social media.
Attaran, whose Twitter bio states that he “wrecks grifters, anti-vaxxers & scientific illiterates,” has also come under fire for comments he made about unvaccinated people.
Attaran previously called those who do not believe in Covid vaccinations racist, low life trash, losers, stupid, villiage idiots, homophobic and anti-Semetic.
