50 Cent’s Nonsense: The Rapper Who Bullied an Autistic Teen at CVG

Every Friday, FlyerTalk looks back at the week’s most charming individuals. While there are always plenty of contenders for our Worst Passenger of the Week award, only one lucky flyer can take home the glory. Here are this week’s winners.

Third Place – Booze, Bomb-threats and Bullying all the Way from Belfast to Barcelona

The phrase “We are here for a f***ing party,” ranks high among the words most fellow passengers don’t want to hear from someone on their flight. Two women on an EasyJet flight this week from Belfast International Airport (BFS) to Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN) not only announced their intention to “party” on the flight, but the pair also reportedly proceeded to do just that.

Passengers on the flight report that the two women were part of a large entourage celebrating a 50th birthday with a trip to Spain. When flight attendants refused to serve the group any more alcohol, two women allegedly became abusive, hurling insults and foul language at the crew and other passengers. One allegedly joked that she was a “suicide bomber” before disappearing into the lavatory.

The party ended abruptly as soon as the flight landed at BCN. According to local media reports, the two women were “forcibly removed from the plane” by police officers who met the flight at the gate.

The Runner-up – The Oh-So-Clever Wi-Fi Moniker that Quarantined an Entire Flight

Someone clearly put some thought into network names like “youkidsgetoffofmyLAN” or “Wi believe I can Fi.” Not quite so much forethought went into the name “Mobile Detonation Device”, however, especially because the hotspot eventually showed up at Melbourne Airport (MEL).

Passengers and crew on a Qantas flight preparing to depart for Perth Airport (PER) were certainly not amused by the implied threat of explosion that appeared among the list of “available Wi-Fi networks” on nearby phones, laptops and tablets. The plane was quickly isolated and crew announced that the flight would not take off until the passenger behind the ill-conceived hotspot name came forward. The flight eventually departed (even though no one ‘fessed up to owning the network in question) but not before the passengers and all the bags on the plane were removed and inspected.

When the flight finally took off, after a nearly two-hour delay, more than 40 passengers refused to re-board the plane because the source of the hoax had not yet been located. While officials determined that the unfortunately named network was not a threat to the plane, the jokester responsible was never identified.

The Worst P-I-M-P of the Week

It is entirely possible that there are worse jobs than working as a custodian at an international airport. On the other hand, airline passengers have an inexplicable knack for making messes that would embarrass zoo animals. Still, teenager Andrew Farrell reports to work at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) every day and does that very thankless job despite the challenges presented by living with autism and anxiety. Farrell’s job is hard enough, but when he met Curtis James Jackson III, better know as 50 Cent, his job got a whole lot tougher.

For unknown reasons, the rapper filmed and posted a video that shows him bullying Farrell as the teen attempted to ignore the musician and go about his work. The fact that 50 Cent apparently didn’t know that the airport worker was autistic doesn’t really explain the behavior. Completely unprovoked, the rapper went on to accuse the teen of being on drugs as he doggedly follows him through the terminal while filming him with a handheld device.

After a massive public backlash, the musician offered an apology to Farrell calling the bizarre incident a “misunderstanding.” Several days later, 50 Cent donated $100K to the Autism Speaks organization at the urging of Farrell’s family. He told reporters, “I want to turn this misunderstanding into an understanding. There are people that are ignored, mistreated and neglected with disabilities that need our support.”

[Photo: AP]