A tense encounter between actress Hilary Swank and a fellow traveler at Los Angeles International Airport drew attention after a mother shared details of the incident on social media.
Hilary Swank Apologizes After Tense Encounter With Traveler At LAX
According to accounts from the woman involved, the incident occurred at baggage claim at LAX on Wednesday, December 10, 2025. Jada Bafus and her two sons, Mason, 7, and Jack, 4, were at the airport preparing to depart on a Make-A-Wish trip to Disneyland when she spotted Swank, 51, walking nearby. Bafus said she took out her phone to call her husband and locate her sons, and that Swank mistakenly believed she was being photographed.
Bafus shared on Instagram that Swank said, “You got what you needed? Get what you came for? Enjoy that picture,” before walking away, leaving Bafus feeling hurt. Bafus said she was not actually taking a photo of the actress and was overwhelmed with the stress of navigating the airport with her children, both of whom have Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a severe and progressive condition.
Bafus later shared that Swank reached out via Instagram to apologize privately and to explain that she had been concerned about her own young twins being photographed. Bafus requested that the content of Swank’s apology not be published but expressed appreciation for the actress’s outreach. Bafus and her husband told reporters they were not upset with Swank following the apology.
However, look at her husband Bryan Bafus’s comment to the UK Daily Mail:
“I think when you’re in that type of…I guess that’s your job on getting filmed in that type of stuff, I feel like it shouldn’t be out of the realm to have your picture taken.
“And Jada wasn’t necessarily taking photos of her, but so to have like, to snap back at anybody when you’re in that profession is kind of like work, I don’t know…it is what it is. We’re not upset at her.
“We’re not trying to get anything from it. It was just kind of like, oh, look at this, that was crazy right? It was unexpected at the start of our trip.”
Jada added, “I did not expect Hilary Swank to directly talk to me. It was just like a whoa, I was taken back.”
It’s not that I think Swank or any adult has a reasonable expectation of privacy in an airport (though she does have a right to shield her children from the public spotlight while they are minors), but that sounds to me like maybe some pictures of her were taken?
Swank and her husband welcomed twin children in April 2023 and have previously spoken publicly about parenthood, but shield their twins from the public spotlight.
CONCLUSION
I take a lot of pictures at airports, but I do try to be tactful about it and respect the privacy of others, even celebrities. I realize it would be hard to resist taking a picture of a celebrity at LAX, but it sounds to me like maybe that is exactly what they were doing despite initially denying it?
image: Hilary Swank/Instagram (Swank was on a Fiji Airways A350)
Honestly, victim mentality all around. Why can no one just have a less then positive interaction and move on like a normal person. All this performative nonsense on social media brings nothing. Hope we as a society move on from this.
So is she hot?
They say, even bad PR is good in this attention economy. I’d beg to differ, but I’m just four digits.
Someday, there will be phones with a swivel lens so you can take a photo yet look like you are just looking at your phone.
In celebrity news about kids, Olympic medalist skater Michelle Kwan just gave birth to child #2. She is 45 so very likely IVF and, I believe, no boyfriend or husband.
Wouldn’t it be hurt pride if the woman taking a photo said “who are you?” to Hilary Swank! I once took a photo at an airport and later realized that someone was posing for my photo in the background, showing the photographer and the alleged subject might have different and honest thoughts on their mind unrelated to the accusation.
In my extended family, we have also have two children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The third child fortunately is fine but has both emotional and physical scars from the other siblings. It is a daily battle of mental and physical disability combined with emotional outbursts. I choose to believe there wasn’t malintent on either party, but a lack of understanding.
Be thankful for your healthy children.
Two handicapped children or not, she’s going to go nuts and post the whole thing online? Just be gracious and accept the apology. The husband’s comment also makes absolutely no sense; I have no idea what he was trying to say. …..”we’re not upset….not trying to get anything”……..But you’re posting all over the place for sympathy ? Why do people have to post all their struggles online as though they are the only ones handling kids or getting through airports. If it’s such a struggle than don’t travel !!!
For Right of Way: Don’t travel?? This family was on a Make A Wish trip often for terminal children, but certainly only those very special children who are able to make such a trip! I think you’re being very insensitive to a family dealing with a very difficult situation. Whether they recognized Hillary Swank (I wouldn’t have had a clue who she was/is) isn’t nearly as important as those children and why they were there.
Personally I think “this ego star” was out of line in even mentioning it. Years ago before she became “famous” she’d have done anything to get people to notice her. Ask anyone with a well-known face and they’ll tell you they gave up privacy when they become well-known.
Yeah, there’s a “baddie” in this tale, but it isn’t Ms Swank.
Swank is in a public space. She has no right to not be filmed. Your Hillary Swank, why are you not in the private terminal?
There is no expectation of privacy in public. How many cameras did she walk by that day? Get over yourself, lady.
Lady could have told Swank” I don’t take pictures of total strangers rudely interrupting me and my children”
It’s easy to paint celebrities as rude in interactions with the public. When people shove something for you to autograph under the toilet door, I suspect your perspective changes.
Things that didn’t happen here.
But things that do happen.
Not relevant here
Oh I know,whether or not they make it up themselves,at least they make sure their publicist puts it out in the public forum ASAP.Having worked front desk at Ohare,I saw major Alisters like Jane Fonda,Robert Redford,etc stand in line like everyone else,zero attitude and nobody snapping pics,invading their space.HS is not and never was at that level of fame.
My first thought was “is she even that famous anymore?” Seems extreme if she threw a fit about a potential picture.
(though she does have a right to shield her children from the public spotlight while they are minors),
What on earth are you talking about? Do you really believe children have special rights?
Absolutely. We have dozens of laws that address the fact that kids are different from adults and, therefore, should be treated differently. We also have cultural norms about that difference. You showing up to film a playground?
That is absurd. You must have gotten your JD from the Trump Univ of Law.
Kids don’t have special privacy laws concerning public photography. That’s absurd.
I wouldn’t know Hilary swank if she was standing right in front of me. Who gives a crap.
Yeah should I care that I don’t even know who Hillary Swank is?
Seems like a notning story that the damily is trying to make into something bigger.
I think it’s a nice story that Swank reached out to them and it seems to me that they did take pictures of her…
So many egomaniacs around think that people care about taking photos of them in public. This summer, I was trying to take photos of the gardens at a historic site in Canada, and two different women confronted me accusing me of taking photos of them. One wasn’t even in my direction and was in none of my photos. The other one was only incidentally in the photo in a group of people.
Why are some people proud of nit knowing a two time Oscar winner?
Hillary needs to pony up $20-30K and fly that family out to Hollywood for a Make-A-Wish make-up trip.
Hilary Swank messed up to start with by confronting somebody where she had no grounds or reason to. She should know better since she has been a celebrity for quite a long time.