A prominent rapper has told his followers on Twitter he will avoid flying on American Airlines. The warning stems from a recent onboard incident which led to a racial discrimination lawsuit.
Yesterday I discussed a disturbing case in California in which a black passenger and five witnesses onboard sued American Airlines for racial discrimination. The passenger claimed he was singled out for poor treatment due to his skin color. American Airlines insists he was removed for repeatedly trying to self-upgrade to first class. Other passengers, however, disputed the account from American Airlines.
> Read More: Black Man Sues American Airlines For Racial Discrimination After Being Denied Free First Class Upgrade?
Now a popular rapper is claiming that black passengers are having “more and more” problems with American Airlines. He’s also stated he will not fly American Airlines again until improvements are made.
O’Shea Jackson, known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper and filmmaker. Over the years, he has used his platform to wade into politics and other social controversies.
“Black people are having more and more problems with American Airlines. They need to fix their attitude before I fly them again.”
Black people are having more and more problems with American Airlines. They need to fix their attitude before I fly them again.
— Ice Cube (@icecube) June 19, 2020
Responding to the tweet, American Airlines said:
“American is committed to ensuring all of our customers are treated with respect. Anything less is unacceptable and would be addressed appropriately.”
Rapper Attacks American Airlines: Why It Matters
This tweet matters not just because we live in a celebrity-crazed culture that cannot think for itself. It matters because this is a prominent figure and he kicked American Airlines directly where it hurts most.
AA received mounds of good press, including from Live and Let’s Fly, for the recent interaction between CEO Doug Parker and a Southwest Airlines flight attendant on the issue race.
> Read More: American CEO Doug Parker Has Earned My Respect
After the NAACP and other prominent civil rights groups cautioned against flying American Airlines in 2018, American Airlines has labored intensely to improve its image as a carrier that treats all passengers with dignity.
But all of that trust has evaporated under the latest accusations.
As more facts emerge, the latest racially-charged story become more questionable. American Airlines now insists it did not “ban” any passengers for what happened onboard.
“None of the passengers were ever banned. We offered to rebook everyone, and those who chose not to fly were provided a full refund. We want to reiterate that all affected customers who didn’t reside locally were provided with a hotel voucher.”
But the damage has been done. Ice Cube’s tweet, whether fair or not, reinforces exactly the image of American Airlines that it does not want. Even if it turns out this story is merely a pathetic fabrication, the egg cannot be put back together…
CONCLUSION
This isn’t just about a rapper cautioning millions of people over flying American Airlines. It is the sort of PR nightmare that American Airlines will struggle to recover from, even if it turns out the passenger in question did deserve to be thrown off and was not targeted for his race. If I were American Airlines, even if the facts were on my side (and to be clear, that seems questionable after five other passengers defended the ejected passenger), I’d just leave this issue alone and stop digging…
image: Ice Cube / Flickr CC 2.0
For those who don’t believe that Ice Cube is irrelevant or not worthy of paying attention too .. then you are in for a rude awakening.
American just got a big headache on its hands !
Why it needs all to be about race and not because some people are just plain stupid? Since 9/11, airline personnel were given way too much power to basically decide to ruin people;’s lives at their leisure. The FA is having a bad day? Watch out. He/She can literally make your life miserable. I was not on the plane and did not see what happened but I haven’t seen anywhere any detail that tells this was due to skin color. I have seen passengers been mistreated in airplanes many times and many of them were white. Again, FA’s were given the power to make your life miserable so they will use it if they want it. You smiled the wrong way? You took a picture? You said something he/she thought was not appropriate? You are toasted. Since 9/11 I have a very clear way to behave when traveling by air. From the time I step on an airport to the time I leave the airport on my destination I avoid eye contact, I avoid saying a single word unless it is extremely necessary, I seat on whatever seat I am assigned and I don’t even blink in moving to another seat. I place my carry on on the designated space, I only go to the lavatory when allowed and in my cabin, etc… I act like a robot but that makes my life easier.
Couple years ago I was on a 99% empty flight from Honolulu to Kauai. A very short flight on a big plane and there were no more than 10 passengers on it. I was seated by the wing and wanted to take some pictures so I moved myself couple rows forward. It was not first class, it was not economy plus, it was just a couple rows forward where all seats were empty. Immediately after I moved a FA came very rude and told me to move back because those seats were for elite members. 🙂 There was nobody on the plane. I explained her I just wanted to take some pictures and she was very clear that if I did not move back she would notify the captain. Yes, on a 20 minute flight with an empty plane. Did I say that was because of my skin color? No!!!!!! She was just plain stupid.
Definitely flying AA now!
@NWA-Cube: Good for people that follow celebrities and make their decisions based on what they say. In my case, I have more important things to do than follow celebrities online and make my life decisions based on what they say. I make my life choices based on my own decisions and not what a black, white, yellow, green, blue, purple, ….. celebrity that lives in a bubble tells me. BTW, I don’t fly AA or UA based on my own decision.
Agree.
” sued American Airlines for racial dissemination.”
*Discrimination (This one was sloppy. sorry)
Let me see, thought processes regarding this:
Who is this guy and who cares?
Oh, that guy, who listens to him?
Oh, his followers won’t fly AA? Time to book AA free of said followers.
Is this the same Ice Cube who has been tweeting out antisemitic content? Methinks he should STFU
https://www.insider.com/ice-cube-shares-anti-semitic-conspiracy-theories-on-twitter-2020-6
and
https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-cubes-long-disturbing-history-of-anti-semitism
I LOVE IC! No American for this white girl
“even if it turns out the passenger in question did deserve to be thrown off and was not targeted for his race.”
Whoa there Tucker Carlson. Don’t you know that sort of suggestion is just flat out racist? If you’re not white then you’re beyond reproach and anything to the contrary is your white privilege speaking.
Sarcasm aside, make no mistake, this isn’t about equality; it’s about settling a score against people who never owned slaves by people who were never enslaved.