Tommy Dorfman rips into plane passenger sending transphobic texts about her: 'This man is an alt-...
The “13 Reasons Why” star took photos of the messages she says she saw while they were on a flight: “The audacity of this man…”
Tommy Dorfman rips into plane passenger sending transphobic texts about her: ‘This man is an alt-right vampire’
The "13 Reasons Why" star took photos of the messages she says she saw while they were on a flight: "The audacity of this man..."
By Wesley Stenzel
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Wesley Stenzel
Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.
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on May 2, 2026 6:18 p.m. ET
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Tommy Dorfman on April 15, 2026. Credit:
Theo Wargo/Getty
- Tommy Dorfman tore into a fellow passenger she says she caught sending transphobic texts about her.
- The *13 Reasons Why* actress took photos of the texts she says she saw while they were on a flight.
- She captioned her message, "Why post, you may wonder? Because I can and this man is an alt-right vampire."
Tommy Dorfman is slamming a fellow passenger on her recent flight.
The *13 Reasons Why *actress, who came out as transgender in 2021, shared a series of photos on Instagram showing an older man texting various contacts about his discomfort over sharing a row with a trans traveler.
"I am in the first aisle of first class. Guess what is sitting next to me? A f---ing transsexual in the midst of going from a man to a woman," the man's text message read. "Just my luck. I was hoping for a hot babe!!"
He added, "Two and a half hours of sitting next to this freak!!"
Dorfman's photos showed the passenger texting the same message to several different recipients.
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Tommy Dorfman shares text messages she says she caught a passenger sending about her.
Tommy Dorfman/Instagram
The actress shared her reaction to her seatmate's cruelty in her caption.
"The audacity of this man so blatantly blasting off texts about me (sparing you the deeply misogynistic and revolting comments on our flight attendants in contrast to my freak) only reaffirms the choices I've made for myself to feel safe and comfortable in my body and spirit," she wrote. "This does come at the cost of safety and comfort in the world, especially in America, and that's not without consequence internally and externally. I am lucky to have the life I have, the ability to fly freely (for now), and even post s--- like this."
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Dorfman also reflected on her appearance. "Objectively, I know I'm not 'passing' and I'm 'bricky' and 'clocky,' but passing hasn't been the point for me, nor should it be for any trans person," she wrote. "We are all allowed to evolve in any way that feels true, and that evolution can expand and contract. It's always been about alignment and autonomy for my own comfort, not the comfort of others or the expectations of society."
In one of the photos, the passenger received responses from a contact named Samantha, who wrote back, "Just remember many people you love are LGBTQ+ and this country sucks for them right now. Be kind!"
Dorfman gave Samantha a shout-out at the end of her caption. "And why post, you may wonder? Because I can and this man is an alt-right vampire AND because Samantha deserves her flowers," she wrote.
The *Jane the Virgin* actress also shared a video of the passenger texting another contact, "The stewardess in the first-class cabin is hot as hell!!!! Offsets the freak!!"
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Tommy Dorfman on Jan. 25, 2026.
Claudio Lavenia/Getty
In another one of the images, a recipient named Dave joked about the man's request for "a hot babe."
"You got one," Dave wrote. "A brand-new one!"
Dorfman received an outpouring of support in the comments section of her post, including from Amanda Seyfried, who wrote, "Scared and dumb, all of 'em 'cept Sam."
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Actress Pauline Chalamet added, "Whaaaat. The f---. I love you, Tommy."
Kaia Gerber commented, "Loving Samantha."
Ellie Goulding chimed in, "What a sad, deranged, troubled person. I'm angry. Sending you love."**
Dorfman did not name the airline she was on or say when the incident took place.
Source: “EW LGBTQ”