Jul 30, 2019, 9:52 am
Last edit by: davie355
At least 3 FlyerTalkers were onboard and have posted eyewitness reports. Excerpts and direct links follow
All reports implicate a musical artist/rapper named Busta Rhymes.
All reports implicate a musical artist/rapper named Busta Rhymes.
- Artist boards and his handler begins packing away his bags in the overheads. To note … the artist brought 4 carryon bags … which meant regardless of the situation that he would have struggled to easily find space (especially as the cabin was full). It was apparent that the handler was having trouble finding space and the artist began getting irate … asking “whose stuff is this” … my wife replied, “mine” … artist responds “move your stuff”.
- I could tell immediately that this would only end in an argument so I suggested to my wife that she just move her bags to avoid confrontation … my wife quite rightfully responded “why should I, we are supposed to share this bin” … this is when the artist flew off the handle: “move your stuff, now” … he was towering over my wife’s seat and she was terrified … I stood up and asked him to “not be so rude to my wife” and to “leave it” to which he responded with “then let’s go, homeboy … essentially offering me to fight him!!!!
A woman started to cry and the situation escalated very quickly. I then jumped in as I can't tolerate any case of abusive behaviour. He threatened me personally because I jumped in. The CSD got involved. The Captain decided to not offload him (don't ask me why because we really don't know, we were all shocked at his judgment call). Instead, the crew asked if any of us would feel safer by taking the next flight.
29 July 19: BA112 [JFK-LHR] incident in F cabin
Jul 31, 2019, 12:33 am
#166
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: living near Malaga
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This incident was picked up by blogger Gary Leff on his Veiw from the Wing site. Some of the comments are hardly conciliatory.
However the one comment I did like spoke of "no class in first class"..
However the one comment I did like spoke of "no class in first class"..
Jul 31, 2019, 12:53 am
#167
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: UK
Programs: BA Blue, IC Spire Ambassador
Posts: 5,228
This incident was picked up by blogger Gary Leff on his Veiw from the Wing site. Some of the comments are hardly conciliatory.
However the one comment I did like spoke of "no class in first class"..
However the one comment I did like spoke of "no class in first class"..
Jul 31, 2019, 1:32 am
#168
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 610
I’m not entirely sure what you’re getting at? Ultimately, a passenger was in tears and another threatened. It was serious enough for the Police to meet the plane on arrival.
Whilst you say a sense of entitlement may be present in First, I think all passengers are entitled to travel without being threatened or belittled to the point of tears. Anyone who thinks otherwise, like this rapper it would seem, should not be allowed to travel. Since this happened at the gate and the plane had not yet left, I believe people are shocked the Captain didn’t offload the offending individual (but actually offered to remove those threatened and in tears!).
Whilst you say a sense of entitlement may be present in First, I think all passengers are entitled to travel without being threatened or belittled to the point of tears. Anyone who thinks otherwise, like this rapper it would seem, should not be allowed to travel. Since this happened at the gate and the plane had not yet left, I believe people are shocked the Captain didn’t offload the offending individual (but actually offered to remove those threatened and in tears!).
I, too, am going to play devils advocate but would OP and the others felt so threatened if it was a white muscly man of large stature with an entourage of white men?
Also, looking at it the other side, the captain offered because it was how the passengers felt not because he had actually hit anyone etc.
Again, this would have never have happened in the back and more than likely, i would have been offloaded for getting involved in something that had nothing to do with me. As everyone said, it was very courageous of the post to stand up to him and defend the couple but i am not surprised by his rebuttal. If you have been anywhere in south london, this would be have been a reaction of anyone on a bus/tube/etc. Getting involved when she had a man there to do that herself was asking for trouble.
Last edited by MiraculousM; Jul 31, 2019 at 1:40 am
Jul 31, 2019, 2:01 am
#170
Join Date: Oct 2013
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Jul 31, 2019, 2:01 am
#171
Join Date: Jan 2012
Programs: BA Blue, IHG Spire, Marriott Gold
Posts: 401
I too am not defending BRs actions but i also have witnessed things like this on many flights down at the back and noone has been offloaded.
I, too, am going to play devils advocate but would OP and the others felt so threatened if it was a white muscly man of large stature with an entourage of white men?
Also, looking at it the other side, the captain offered because it was how the passengers felt not because he had actually hit anyone etc.
Again, this would have never have happened in the back and more than likely, i would have been offloaded for getting involved in something that had nothing to do with me. As everyone said, it was very courageous of the post to stand up to him and defend the couple but i am not surprised by his rebuttal. If you have been anywhere in south london, this would be have been a reaction of anyone on a bus/tube/etc. Getting involved when she had a man there to do that herself was asking for trouble.
I, too, am going to play devils advocate but would OP and the others felt so threatened if it was a white muscly man of large stature with an entourage of white men?
Also, looking at it the other side, the captain offered because it was how the passengers felt not because he had actually hit anyone etc.
Again, this would have never have happened in the back and more than likely, i would have been offloaded for getting involved in something that had nothing to do with me. As everyone said, it was very courageous of the post to stand up to him and defend the couple but i am not surprised by his rebuttal. If you have been anywhere in south london, this would be have been a reaction of anyone on a bus/tube/etc. Getting involved when she had a man there to do that herself was asking for trouble.
Also I live in South East London and numerous times have seen people stand up for/get involved in these sort of incidents in public transport and other situations, it's almost always appreciated, not everyone is confident or brave enough to stand up in public for someone....
Jul 31, 2019, 2:09 am
#172
Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 4
I am "the husband"
Hi all,
So, I am the husband of the lady who was first abused by the “artist” in question – we were in fact sitting in the front “buddy” seats in FC 4E and 4F. The events (from our perspective) went like this:
So, I am the husband of the lady who was first abused by the “artist” in question – we were in fact sitting in the front “buddy” seats in FC 4E and 4F. The events (from our perspective) went like this:
- The artist boarded the plane shortly before pushback. The cabin had already settled down and bags were already packed away in the overhead bins. For accuracy, my wife’s seat was next to the artists which meant they were supposed to SHARE the same overhead.
- Artist boards and his handler begins packing away his bags in the overheads. To note … the artist brought 4 carryon bags … which meant regardless of the situation that he would have struggled to easily find space (especially as the cabin was full). It was apparent that the handler was having trouble finding space and the artist began getting irate … asking “whose stuff is this” … my wife replied, “mine” … artist responds “move your stuff”.
- I could tell immediately that this would only end in an argument so I suggested to my wife that she just move her bags to avoid confrontation … my wife quite rightfully responded “why should I, we are supposed to share this bin” … this is when the artist flew off the handle: “move your stuff, now” … he was towering over my wife’s seat and she was terrified … I stood up and asked him to “not be so rude to my wife” and to “leave it” to which he responded with “then let’s go, homeboy … essentially offering me to fight him!!!!
- The staff then entered the cabin (including the CSD) to defuse the situation. A nice female attendant took my wife away to comfort here in the toilet. The CSD then (wrongly, in my opinion) asked me in front of the artist “if you want to take this further and report him to the police now”. To provide context … the artist was stood there staring at me as I was asked this … that was EXTREMELY intimidating and was not the right way to deal with it. I responded with “no comment”.
- The artist was then taken to the galley to calm down … he was placed outside the door to the toilet where my wife was crying and terrified … I even had to squeeze past him to get to my wife in the toilet! When I passed him … he said “we cool” … and I said, “we’ll be cool when you apologise to my wife” .. he responded with “there isn’t nothing to apologise for aside from your wife acting like a queen”. I left the conversation immediately as there was zero upside!
- We all settled back into the FC cabin and the artist then entered the cabin to sit down. He then IMMEDIATELY threatened 81ROMEO (before the artist had even sat down) by saying something like “we’ll discuss this when we get off the plane” … in a highly aggressive voice … it was clearly a vailed threat! 81ROMEO had done nothing to provoke this!
- 81ROMEO calmly walked out of the cabin (hats off to him) and got the CSD into the cabin again … who started off by saying “what’s happened now”. The captain was then brought down and then both parties were able to give their side to the story in which the artist all of a sudden became much calmer and nicer (funny that). To note … I have this entire conversation recorded on video!
- The pilot decided it was right to keep the artist on the flight and we were asked if WE wanted to get off the flight” my wife was so distraught that she asked if we could be moved to CW but there was only one seat so we had to decline. We were mortified that the pilot decided to keep him on the flight despite threatening two passengers and being extremely rude to another (my wife).
- After pushback there were no further issues between people in the cabin; although we didn’t sleep a wink and my wife cried for most of the flight – she was scared!!!thanks BA for deciding to keep a dangerous passenger on the flight.
Jul 31, 2019, 2:18 am
#173
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: living near Malaga
Programs: BA Gold , Mucci recipient. Coffee Drinker, Blue Sky Thinker
Posts: 2,111
Its an urban term generally used between two black men from the same neighbourhood. I read it in the OP statement to belive that BR was patronisinly addressing a gentlemen of similar ethnicity which is why I was surprised about the black/white comments on here and elsewhere.
Jul 31, 2019, 2:25 am
#174
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: NT Australia
Programs: QF WP
Posts: 4,160
I feel like homeboy in this situation is like calling someone mate when they are absolutely not your mate
fwiw there is an underlying ?trend ?feeling in some communities that white women cry and then get defended by numerous white knights, thus proving that racism exists (i’m not explaining this well but it is a thing- sorry to post a guardian article as a reference but: https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...accountability)
as a white female working largely in majority black communities I can confirm that crying or having any leap in to “save” me escalates the situation quite remarkably. However obviously it’s not reasonable to expect people who don’t operate in those environments routinely to be aware of those kind of nuances (and neither in first class should you have to be)
fwiw there is an underlying ?trend ?feeling in some communities that white women cry and then get defended by numerous white knights, thus proving that racism exists (i’m not explaining this well but it is a thing- sorry to post a guardian article as a reference but: https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...accountability)
as a white female working largely in majority black communities I can confirm that crying or having any leap in to “save” me escalates the situation quite remarkably. However obviously it’s not reasonable to expect people who don’t operate in those environments routinely to be aware of those kind of nuances (and neither in first class should you have to be)
Jul 31, 2019, 2:30 am
#175
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 610
I feel like homeboy in this situation is like calling someone mate when they are absolutely not your mate
fwiw there is an underlying ?trend ?feeling in some communities that white women cry and then get defended by numerous white knights, thus proving that racism exists (i’m not explaining this well but it is a thing- sorry to post a guardian article as a reference but: https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...accountability)
as a white female working largely in majority black communities I can confirm that crying or having any leap in to “save” me escalates the situation quite remarkably. However obviously it’s not reasonable to expect people who don’t operate in those environments routinely to be aware of those kind of nuances (and neither in first class should you have to be)
fwiw there is an underlying ?trend ?feeling in some communities that white women cry and then get defended by numerous white knights, thus proving that racism exists (i’m not explaining this well but it is a thing- sorry to post a guardian article as a reference but: https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...accountability)
as a white female working largely in majority black communities I can confirm that crying or having any leap in to “save” me escalates the situation quite remarkably. However obviously it’s not reasonable to expect people who don’t operate in those environments routinely to be aware of those kind of nuances (and neither in first class should you have to be)
I agree. This is sort of what i was getting at and did not mean to cause offence so sorry for wording it badly. I feel like getting involved escalated it completely and homeboy isnt a threatening term but in this situation is a sarcastic one.
Jul 31, 2019, 2:45 am
#177
Join Date: Oct 2015
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I love that FT provides a forum (literally!) for a bunch of strangers to come together after the flight and share each of their perspectives. Now we just need Mr Rhymes to join and we'll have a full house!
Jul 31, 2019, 2:50 am
#178
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
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Posts: 63,804
And of course all of these reports, from people who didn't know each other, all tie in. I imagine you can use the Private Message facility to get in touch with the other 2 passengers in First with you.
I do hope you have contacted YouFirst by telephone, to complain, followed up with an email along the lines mentioned above. I can't see anything in what you have reported which is acceptable, though it's possible the captain had other unstated factors to contend with. However this was an appalling incident (and that's not a term I use lightly), no-one should feel bullied, and certainly not trapped with the bully for 7 hours in a narrow tube.
Again I'm very sorry this has happened to you and your wife.
Last edited by corporate-wage-slave; Jul 31, 2019 at 4:27 am
Jul 31, 2019, 2:57 am
#179
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 7,875
Its an urban term generally used between two black men from the same neighbourhood. I read it in the OP statement to belive that BR was patronisinly addressing a gentlemen of similar ethnicity which is why I was surprised about the black/white comments on here and elsewhere.
But in the US we have non-white non-black and maybe you are talking about a place that does not?
Jul 31, 2019, 2:57 am
#180
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: FLR
Programs: BA Gold, LH Sen, FB Gold
Posts: 504
Hi all,
So, I am the husband of the lady who was first abused by the “artist” in question – we were in fact sitting in the front “buddy” seats in FC 4E and 4F. The events (from our perspective) went like this:
So, I am the husband of the lady who was first abused by the “artist” in question – we were in fact sitting in the front “buddy” seats in FC 4E and 4F. The events (from our perspective) went like this:
- The artist boarded the plane shortly before pushback. The cabin had already settled down and bags were already packed away in the overhead bins. For accuracy, my wife’s seat was next to the artists which meant they were supposed to SHARE the same overhead.
- Artist boards and his handler begins packing away his bags in the overheads. To note … the artist brought 4 carryon bags … which meant regardless of the situation that he would have struggled to easily find space (especially as the cabin was full). It was apparent that the handler was having trouble finding space and the artist began getting irate … asking “whose stuff is this” … my wife replied, “mine” … artist responds “move your stuff”.
- I could tell immediately that this would only end in an argument so I suggested to my wife that she just move her bags to avoid confrontation … my wife quite rightfully responded “why should I, we are supposed to share this bin” … this is when the artist flew off the handle: “move your stuff, now” … he was towering over my wife’s seat and she was terrified … I stood up and asked him to “not be so rude to my wife” and to “leave it” to which he responded with “then let’s go, homeboy … essentially offering me to fight him!!!!
- The staff then entered the cabin (including the CSD) to defuse the situation. A nice female attendant took my wife away to comfort here in the toilet. The CSD then (wrongly, in my opinion) asked me in front of the artist “if you want to take this further and report him to the police now”. To provide context … the artist was stood there staring at me as I was asked this … that was EXTREMELY intimidating and was not the right way to deal with it. I responded with “no comment”.
- The artist was then taken to the galley to calm down … he was placed outside the door to the toilet where my wife was crying and terrified … I even had to squeeze past him to get to my wife in the toilet! When I passed him … he said “we cool” … and I said, “we’ll be cool when you apologise to my wife” .. he responded with “there isn’t nothing to apologise for aside from your wife acting like a queen”. I left the conversation immediately as there was zero upside!
- We all settled back into the FC cabin and the artist then entered the cabin to sit down. He then IMMEDIATELY threatened 81ROMEO (before the artist had even sat down) by saying something like “we’ll discuss this when we get off the plane” … in a highly aggressive voice … it was clearly a vailed threat! 81ROMEO had done nothing to provoke this!
- 81ROMEO calmly walked out of the cabin (hats off to him) and got the CSD into the cabin again … who started off by saying “what’s happened now”. The captain was then brought down and then both parties were able to give their side to the story in which the artist all of a sudden became much calmer and nicer (funny that). To note … I have this entire conversation recorded on video!
- The pilot decided it was right to keep the artist on the flight and we were asked if WE wanted to get off the flight” my wife was so distraught that she asked if we could be moved to CW but there was only one seat so we had to decline. We were mortified that the pilot decided to keep him on the flight despite threatening two passengers and being extremely rude to another (my wife).
- After pushback there were no further issues between people in the cabin; although we didn’t sleep a wink and my wife cried for most of the flight – she was scared!!!thanks BA for deciding to keep a dangerous passenger on the flight.