At a time when the majority of modern "celebrity news" is about stars behaving badly (whatup, Shia!), it's refreshing when a celebrity is caught performing an act of genuine kindness. It's even better when it happens in private.
Such was the case on the morning of June 27, 2014, when Academy Award-nominated actress Amy Adams boarded a flight from Detroit to Los Angeles, where she's been reprising her role as Lois Lane in "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice." Before boarding began, Adams noticed a United States serviceman in uniform waiting to board the same plane. Where most stars — heck, even Joe Q. Public — would have smiled at the soldier and then went about their business, Adams reacted differently.
Once on the plane in her first class seat, Adams watched the serviceman board and take his seat in coach. That's when she made her move. Adams made a discrete arrangement with a flight attendant to trade her first class seat for the soldier's. Minutes later, the serviceman was surprised to find himself sitting in first class, while Amy Adams took his seat. Adams wanted to keep the whole thing private but she was outed by a fellow passenger.
ESPN reporter Jemele Hill was also on the plane and saw the whole thing. After tweeting about it, Hill emailed Today.com with more details.
"When we were waiting to board, I saw her glance the soldier's way and then she said something to the person she was traveling with," said Hill by email. Hill soon found herself sitting a few rows in front of Adams, where she was able to watch what happened. After the serviceman was brought forward, Adams reportedly greeted him privately, near the cockpit, before going back to coach. Hill also mentioned that the soldier spent most of the subsequent flight sleeping.
In coach, Adams was gracious enough to pose for pictures with several passengers. A journalist named Ernest Owens (pictured above) found himself sitting beside Adams in coach, and later told "Inside Edition" that he complemented the actress for her act of generosity. Adams replied that giving her seat to a member of the U.S. military was "something she always wanted to do and she just decided to put her money where her mouth is."
Moving fast, a reporter from "Inside Edition" managed to make it to the airport in time to meet Adams when the plane landed.
"I didn't do it for attention for myself. I did it for attention for the troops," Adams said when the reporter asked about what she'd done.
Like her film character Lois Lane, Adams is also the daughter of a military officer.
