Rapper Joey Bada$$ took to Twitter to call out an American Airlines flight attendant for allegedly profiling the musician as someone who didn’t belong in the first class cabin.
The last thing American Airlines needed was yet another high-profile allegation of racial discrimination, but a well-known musician became the legacy airline’s latest accuser this week. Rapper Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott, better known as Joey Bada$$, told his more than 850,000 Twitter followers that he believes he was racially profiled on an AA flight this weekend.
“So I’m boarding this #AmericanAirlines flight walking to my first class seat,” the rapper wrote shortly after boarding. “But before I get there I put my bag up (in the first class section obv) & one of the flight attendants goes ‘excuse me sir you can’t put your bag there that’s for our first class customers’ AHAHAHA.”
Late last year, following a string of incidents in which the airline was accused of mistreating passengers from ethnic minority backgrounds, the NAACP airlines.html” target=”_blank”>issued a travel advisory warning African-American passengers of “a pattern of disturbing incidents reported by African-American passengers, specific to American Airlines.” Just a few weeks later, American Airlines officials announced that all of its employees would be required to complete airlines-flight-attendants-to-do-mandatory-anti-racism-training.html” target=”_blank”>mandatory anti-racism training.
The songwriter and actor appears to have been very much aware of American Airlines’ recent struggles. Scott didn’t waste any time alluding to previous claims of racial bias against the airline.
“So I show her my ticket and the whole plane just laughs at her,” he later posted. “Stupid b****. @AmericanAir is the best airline for racial discrimination. This is why I’m #teamdelta @Delta.”
Determined not to allow this most recent incident to spiral into another public relations nightmare, American Airlines representatives quickly responded to the musician’s very public grievance about his flight. The situation, however, was not quite so easily defused.
“@joeyBADASS,” the airline replied. “Our customers should feel welcomed while traveling with us, we’re going to have someone meet you at the gate once you arrive.”
Meanwhile, as evidenced by a later Tweet, Joey Bada$$ it seems, was not at all impressed with the airline’s efforts. The rapper appears to have had the last word on the subject.
“Be honest you guys said this just for Twitter,” he wrote. “Didn’t see anyone waiting to meet me when I arrived. And even if there was, trust I wasn’t interested. But thank you anyway… for nothing.”
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