34 year-old Chicago PD actress, Sophia Bush, took to social media on Friday to send a strong message to a man who harassed her and made her “visibly uncomfortable” during a plane ride.
She shared a note on Twitter, captioned with a middle finger, calling the stranger out for his inappropriate and unwanted behaviour on the flight. She started the messaged with “Dear Random Dude on a plane” and went on to tell him that,
“When you make a woman so visibly uncomfortable, that after you’ve ignored all visual cues to please leave her alone (one word answers, she pulls out a book, puts on a hat, she actually asks you to not speak to her with the tone and words you’re choosing to use) that she finally GETS UP and MOVE SEATS, leave her alone.”
She ends the letter “Signed, Every Woman On The Planet Who Is Sick Of Your Creepy Shit.”
Her powerful words resonated with many women around the country and around the world. She received a lot of support worldwide and many women thanked her on social media for speaking out about this issue. They noted that the message speaks to more people than just celebrities and also speaks to interactions that many “ordinary” and “normal” women witness every day.
Although Bush is an actress and her fame is undoubtedly a factor in this situation, the message that Bush is conveying goes beyond this encounter with this particular stranger on her plane.
She is talking about the idea that women constantly have to deal with unwarranted advances and interactions – whether it be on the sidewalk, the train, the plane, wherever – that they are expected to welcome and engage in.
— Sophia Bush (@SophiaBush) September 17, 2016
Bush’s encounter is not an isolated incident. It’s a reality that most women around the world and around the country have to deal with every day, and it has to end. 
