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A heated moment developed at the airport, with a passenger finding the ringing from Bethenny Frankel‘s phone too loud to bear. The incident was televised by the celebrity on social media and this sparked a discourse on public manners and the use of headphones in public spaces.
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What started off as a request to lower the volume escalated into a full-blown confrontation at the airport, hence splitting the entire second half of Bethenny’s airport morning. In the video posted from Paris, an individual walks up to Frankel and asks her to turn down her phone. What ensued was a worsening situation: Frankel lowered the volume, but then was told by this stranger, “This is a quiet zone.”
This was where Frankel pushed back. “Wow, now you lost me,” she recalled. “We don’t need to get the rules from you because everyone’s talking.” She mocked the “quiet zone” claim with more sarcasm about rules as if from “third grade” and threats about fetching a microphone to sing. “It’s not the quiet sound,” Frankel said. “It’s the somewhat quiet sound, but I’m now talking louder than my phone was.” She concluded the story with her signature quip: “I’ll turn my phone down, shut up.”
The incident garnered mass support from her followers, but a clear split in opinion arose amongst the commentators: some agreed with Frankel for standing against what they thought to be an illegitimate enforcement, but the majority of the responses condemned her for that exact issue they were arguing about-a resolution, that is, playing audio aloud in public.
“I generally feel this way,” one replied: “Bethany, I love you but listening to someone’s phone feels so different and so much more annoying than hearing people talk. It’s a total pet peeve of mine. Use your earbuds.” This comment, joined by many others, lays to sight a view widely held about the differentiation between background noise caused by conversation rather than disturbing personal device audio.
Another person expressed his opinion of life being robbed with nothing but frustrations. “This is the reason they make air buds , Bose or whatever… I can’t tell you how many times I’ve just been walking through the grocery store… and there was always one person that has to be holding their phone at their mouth on speaker.” This extended statement exemplifies how it is generally regarded as a public nuisance, despite the fact that the solution to this problem is there for the taking.
The “use your earbuds” argument kept getting bounced around. One advocate for this view weighed in: “For somebody who ‘knows it all’ you clearly don’t know about travel etiquette. Talking is not the same as taking video calls or listening to videos out loud on electronic devices. Its highly annoying and antisocial. AirPods are available at all airports. You’re welcome.” This comment painted it as a public awareness issue; with all of those who called the act “rude” and “beyond annoying” also rallied behind that viewpoint.
Still, the critical comments of Frankel were but a minority. Many went on to defend her, siding against the stranger’s aggression. “This is the mind your own business zone,” one cheered for Frankel staying her ground. Another fan exclaimed, “Still blows my mind that people think they can come for you not knowing that attitude doesn’t work on you and nobody comes out alive,” applauding the profiled-aggressiveness of Frankel.
The debate also sparked another story about misunderstood rules of quiet. One user commented, “I was visiting my sister in New Jersey going into Madison sq garden on the train with my Australian husband . We were chatting and all of a sudden this women screams at the top of her lungs ‘This is a quiet train’ I had never heard of a ‘quiet train’ but her screaming was much louder than my private chat.” That elicited a flood of replies correcting the user for the existence of quiet cars and then laughing about the irony, which just goes to show that confusion about etiquette in public spaces is a common and usually contentious experience.
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At the end of the day, Bethenny Frankel’s pretentious airport drama is much more than just a fleeting moment in the spotlight; it is an example of a contemporary social dilemma. This conflict brings attention to the perpetual tension that exists between personal freedom and the conscience of society in a shared compartment. There’s the hot spot: Frankel used to feel the wrath of an unofficial rule-holder. But from the overwhelming response of her followers, whenever it comes to whooping it up with a phone in public, it’s the greatest public opinion that says: Use headphones. This instant will always be a very good reminder that when everybody is online, some ear-lowering etiquette could steer on the way to avoiding another nightmare. Her recent girl dinner creation shows her continued presence in the public eye, while her morning coffee recipe has also drawn attention. Additionally, Frankel recently gave a high rating to a chicken salad.
