Photo from Slater's Myspace page

Disgruntled flight attendant Steven Slater might not be the working class hero we’ve declared him, or so say witnesses to the ordeal.

Passengers on board Monday’s JetBlue flight where Slater made his infamous emergency exit say that it was Slater who instigated the fight with a passenger, cursing at her after she asked where her bag was stowed, The Wall Street Journal reported today.

(Read more about the job stress faced by flight attendants)

One passenger explained that while exiting the plane at John F. Kennedy International Airport, she overheard a young woman asking Slater where she could find her luggage before the interaction took a nasty turn. “I didn’t think she was rude in the least,” she said. “It really blew my mind. It was so inappropriate.”

Another passenger told The Wall Street Journal that Slater was rude to after she asked for something to mop up spilled coffee she found on her seat, saying that Slater “rolled his eyes at me and said, ‘What?’ in a real rude manner.” When the passenger pointed out the coffee to Slater, she says he snapped at her: “No! Maybe when we get in the air! I need to take care of myself first, honey!” She said he was referring to the gash on his forehead. “It wasn’t normal and he shouldn’t have been acting that way,” she said. “I felt so uncomfortable on that flight.”

(See the 5 best things about Steven Slater’s freak out)

These new accounts could taint Slater’s heroic image to the thousands who have shown support through Facebook, Twitter or on sites like FreeSlater.com, which asks Internet users to donate to a legal fund following Slater’s arrest for charges of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing. “Why are they applauding what he did? I don’t understand,” one passenger told The Wall Street Journal. “There are people out there who are dying for a job. I’m glad he’s gone because someone can step in and do a much better job.”