Nyle DiMarco (pictured in January) has publicly shamed United Airlines
America's Next Top Model's first deaf winner Nyle DiMarco has publicly shamed United Airlines for linking deafness with 'the inability to walk' and bringing him a wheelchair when he stepped off a flight.
DiMarco told DailyMail.com he flew from from Denver to Los Angeles on Sunday and saw his name and the United logo on a screen on top of a wheelchair as he walked up the bridge linking the plane and the airport.
'I honestly wanted to sit on it and document the entire wheelchair trip, but I didn't want to take that away from others in need,' he said. 'This has happened multiple times. I've tweeted to United several times before.
'This time I found their ignorance funny. How hearing people associate deaf with inability to walk astounds me.
'Of course not to say that all deaf people do not need a wheelchair or some sort of assistance. But it is just that I never requested one.'
The winner of Cycle 22 of America's Next Top Model first tweeted United Airlines on Sunday with a video of him walking past the wheelchair adorned with his name
Steve Benjamin replied to DiMarco's tweet: '@united Why do deaf people keep getting given wheelchairs at airports?'
The activist, who runs The Nyle DiMarco Foundation which aims to make the world a better place for deaf people and their families, added: 'When it happened the first few times I felt frustrated because the airlines have acknowledged and apologized, but it is clear that they've never pushed for change, nor have they trained their employees.'
DiMarco says he's had the same experience in the past and he is aware of this happening to other members of the deaf community with United and other airlines.
In December he revealed the same thing had happened on a Delta flight and the airline apologized.
The winner of Cycle 22 of America's Next Top Model and Dancing with the Stars 2016 first tweeted United Airlines on Sunday, writing: 'Ooh a deaf person, give him a wheelchair,' alongside a video of him walking past the wheelchair adorned with his name.
Steve Benjamin replied to the tweet: '@united Why do deaf people keep getting given wheelchairs at airports? I know it’s your job but why? I can walk. Stop doing that! I always ignore it when I see my name on the
