The L Word actress Leisha Hailey says she was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight after kissing her girlfriend.
In a series of tweets Monday, Hailey wrote that she and fashion designer Nina Garduno, who have been together since 2006, “were escorted off the plane for getting upset about the issue.”
“I have been discriminated against by @SouthwestAir,” she tweeted. “Flt. attendant said that it was a ‘family’ airline and kissing was not ok.”
“This is an outrage,” she added. “I demand a public apology by @SouthwestAir and a refund. Hate is not a family value. I will never fly this airline.”
She continued: “We were escorted off the plane for getting upset about the issue. @SouthwestAir endorses homophobic employees. No one made her accountable.”
The Uh Huh Her twitter feed — of which Hailey, also a musician, is a member — also posted a series of tweets about the incident. One noted that the couple “joined the ranks” of Kevin Smith and Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, both of whom were previously kicked off SWA flights. In February 2010, Smith claimed he was kicked off for being too large to fit in a single seat, while Armstrong earlier this month tweeted that he was escorted off the aircraft for wearing sagging pants.
“We didn’t know intolerance and discrimination for slouchy pants, being overweight or being gay was part of your family values,” an Uh Huh Her tweet read.
Meanwhile, a SWA rep did reach out to Hailey via Uh Huh Her’s Twitter account.
“I’m so sorry!” read a tweet from SWA’s account. “Can you please follow/DM [direct message] me more details so we can get to the bottom of this? Thanks!”
SWA later tweeted this statement, which did not mention Hailey by name: “Initial reports indicate that we received several passenger complaints characterizing the behavior as excessive. Our crew, responsible for the comfort of all Customers on board, approached the passengers based solely on behavior and not gender. The conversation escalated to a level that was better resolved on the ground, as opposed to in flight. We regret any circumstance where a passenger does not have a positive experience on Southwest and we are ready to work directly with the passengers involved to offer our heartfelt apologies for falling short of their expectations.”
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