The director and actor says a pilot ejected him from a Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland to Burbank, Calif., saying he didn't fit properly in a single seat.

Smith raised a stink about the incident on his Twitter page Sunday, saying ``I'm way fat, but I'm not there just yet,'' and ``If you look like me, you may be ejected from Southwest Air.''

He posted a picture of himself sitting on the plane with his cheeks puffed out.

Southwest says its ``Customer of Size'' policy requires that travellers must be able to fit safely and comfortably in one seat or make other arrangements.

After a storm of angry online comments from Smith and his fans, the airline issued an apology first from its own Twitter account and later in a statement on its website titled ``Not So Silent Bob,'' a jovial jab at the Silent Bob character Smith plays in many of his films.