More turbulence is following a Brooklyn artist accused of causing a violent mid-air meltdown on a Southwest Airlines flight. The passenger she allegedly assaulted is now suing, saying the incident left her not only bruised but humiliated in front of the world once the footage went viral.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in New York State Supreme Court, comes from Kansas resident Livia Rombola, who says she was blindsided when 32-year-old illustrator Leanna Perry pulled her hair and spit in her face during the June 17 flight from New York to Kansas City. Rombola describes herself as “physically injured, emotionally distressed, and psychologically traumatized” by the encounter — and by the way it spread across the internet in the days that followed.

The video, shared widely on social media, shows Perry unleashing a string of insults before physically attacking Rombola. Witnesses said Perry seemed intoxicated, shouting slurs about her seatmate’s appearance and escalating the confrontation until crew members restrained her with zip ties and strapped her down for the duration of the flight. She was removed from the aircraft by police once the plane landed. Perry pled not guilty to a slate of misdemeanor charges, including attempted assault, harassment, and disorderly conduct.

Rombola’s lawsuit also takes aim at Southwest Airlines itself. Her complaint argues that the company’s longstanding policy of open seating — unusual in the industry — helped fuel the conflict. Unlike most carriers, Southwest doesn’t assign passengers seats, instead encouraging a first-come, first-served system. Rombola’s attorney, Joel J. Turney, says the “free-for-all” approach created conditions for chaos, calling it a foreseeable hazard the airline should have eliminated years ago. Southwest announced in July it will phase out the policy in January 2026.

The Federal Aviation Administration has logged more than a thousand reports of unruly passengers already this year. Rombola’s lawyers argue that this was a violent assault made even worse by corporate policies and airline inaction.

Rombola says that once the video went viral her life was all but wrecked. She allegedly experienced reputational harm, professional embarrassment, and ongoing anxiety. She would like the courts to hold both Perry and Southwest accountable. Perry’s next court date is in Queens Criminal Court on September 3.