Influencer's private jet flight amid disaster sparks outrage online: 'Bad for the image'

After wildfires tore through Southern California, influencer Liane V Benjamin (@lianev) was among the many people around the country who rallied to support those impacted, raising awareness on Instagram about how people could help and where they could drop off donations.

However, a Redditor was outraged when they spotted footage of Liane heading to an NFL game on a private jet with her husband, Don Benjamin, several days after the blazes began. 

"If you look at her husband's page, they were literally [boarding] a private jet to see a football game," the original poster wrote in the r/Influencersinthewild subreddit. "Of course Liane isn't reposting those stories lmao bad for the image." 

Other Redditors were infuriated by the scene, suggesting that it was callous to flaunt a lifestyle of excess while asking other people to donate to recovery efforts. 

"Why are people like this?" one commenter vented. 

It is unclear whether the couple donated money themselves, though Liane wrote on Instagram: "Let's all continue to come together and do our part to support our community in any way we can." That's a sentiment worth getting behind. 

Nonetheless, the footage highlights how small everyday decisions can disproportionately contribute to a worrisome long-term impact. 

Based on the timing of the post, it appears Liane and Don were on their way to the Los Angeles Rams' NFC Wild Card matchup with the Minnesota Vikings, which was moved to Arizona's State Farm Stadium in the wake of the wildfires. 

That roughly six-hour journey isn't one everybody would want to make by car, which is a less polluting form of transport than air travel — particularly if a driver takes an electric vehicle, which emits zero tailpipe pollution.

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While it would be incredibly unfair to draw a direct connection between a single private flight and any specific weather event, dirty fuel pollution is the main catalyst of rising global temperatures and the associated more intense and frequent extreme weather, such as droughts, heatwaves, and wildfires. 

Ultimately, a commercial flight would've been a better option. According to Transport & Environment, private jets are "five to 14 times more polluting than commercial planes" per passenger. Because of this, critics frequently call out influencers, celebrities, and business moguls who opt for one of the least eco-friendly modes of transport around. 

"This is a small jet and does not look comfortable," one Redditor pointed out.

"Yeah, 1st class would be a fraction of the price and a s******* more room and comfort," another said. 

"Super goofy human behavior," someone else suggested. 

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