“You’re Not Supposed to Be In First Class, I’m Calling the Police”: Rapper Alleges Discrimination on American Airlines Flight
Sharon Hsu September 18, 2018
Rapper Olubowale Victor Akintimehin, who goes by the stage name Wale, tweeted late Sunday evening that he had been questioned by two American Airlines flight attendants about whether or not he belonged in first class, despite the fact that he held a ticket. According to the artist, the flight attendants threatened to call the police to remove him.
American Airlines is once again embroiled in controversy, right after the NAACP lifted the travel advisory it had issued against the carrier last year. In October of 2017, the organization released a strongly worded statement against the airline, stating that due to a “pattern of disturbing incidents … we have today taken the action of issuing national advisory alerting travelers – especially African Americans – to exercise caution, in that booking and boarding flights on American Airlines could subject them disrespectful, discriminatory or unsafe conditions.”
While the NAACP reversed its position in July, citing equity and inclusion improvements that they had seen the airline make, D.C. rapper Wale took to Twitter on Sunday evening to allege discriminatory behavior on the part of two flight attendants.
In his Twitter thread, which is still available on his account, Mr. Akintimehin first noted that his flight from JFK to LAX had been delayed, then cancelled. When the American Airlines account replied to him apologizing for the delay, he responded, “How about ur employees Megumi and Don told me ‘ur not supposed to be in first class I’m calling the police.'” The artist also attached a screenshot of his ticket showing his first class seat number.
Several commenters replied to his tweet stating that they had also experienced similar incidents with the airline.
When reached for a statement, an American spokesperson told Inc.com, “Discrimination has no place at American Airlines. From the team members we hire to the customers we serve, inclusion and diversity is a way of life at American. Every day, our team members work to make American a place where people of all generations, races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, religious affiliations and backgrounds feel welcome and valued. We are concerned about the comments from Mr. Akintimehin, and our team is reaching out to him to gather more information about what occurred last night.”
[Photo: Shutterstock]
You’re Reading
lot's of racists here
“This has nothing to do with race, he was probably approached this way because of the way he dressed.” That’s exactly one of the ways racism manifests itself
Not enough information here. Is he saying that they asked to see his ticket and that is what they said when he refused, or is he saying he showed them his ticket and they didn't believe the ticket? That would be a big difference.
Just on more narcissistic entertainer making themselves into a victim because everyone is kissing their a$$, to their satisfaction. Anyone who actually travel extensively know FA’s are dealing with the full range of humanity on a daily basis. It’s a tough job and mostly thankless. Do FA’s occasionally have bad days, yes, their human but no one becomes a FA if they don’t enjoy working with people, all types. This so call star is just looking for attention. People, please get real and stop believing everything these spoiled brats say.
Operative word here is "alleged". People lie.