Melinna Bobadilla, an actress on Netflix series Gentefied and Orange Is the New Black, says she was kicked off a “misogynistic” Southwest Airlines flight after defending a woman who was being “slut shamed” by a flight attendant.
“Hey friends just got pulled off a @SouthwestAir flight [because] I advocated for a young woman being shamed and harassed by an employee for wearing a tank top that was deemed too revealing.”
Bobadilla added that the employee “became defensive when I asked about what rules the young woman was breaking.”
“She responded with ‘She is wearing a corset and this is a family company. Some people find it offensive.’ I then told the employee that I felt threatened and [offended] by the man directly behind me wearing a ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ shirt, and she did not care,” the actress continued.
“Basically @SouthwestAir slut shamed a young woman of color for wearing a tank top they deemed offensive, forced her to wear a company issued sweater, removed me for questioning their misogynistic policy, exercised a double standard when enforcing an alleged offensive attire rule,” she added.
In yet another follow-up tweet, the Bobadilla said “The raggedy folks at @SouthwestAir in Sacramento disrespected two women of color, endangered one by needlessly calling the cops, and went out of their way to protect a conservative white man.”
“@SouthwestAir is steamy, stale trash,” she added. “Go out of business already.”
Southwest Airlines responded to Bobadilla’s tweet, writing, “we’re sorry to hear you were unable to travel to your destination as planned,” and asked for the actress to send them a private message with “any additional details about your experience you wish to share.”
“I don’t have faith that this can be rectified via DMs Brenna, unless you are authorized to issue an official apology, reimburse me for all costs incurred related to booking new travel, and issue a check for damages and emotional distress,” the actress snapped back.
The young woman who ran afoul of the airline’s dress code appears to be an entertainer herself. Pop singer Jacy posted a TikTok video of herself sitting inside a plane, with the caption, “Bro I got dress coded on a south west flight? Are we in highschool? Are u upset about my shoulders? It’s 102 degrees? And it caused a scene because some sweet lady stuck up for me and then kicked off the flight.”
“Whoever grandma complained about me… catch me outside bich,” she added.
In a follow-up video, the singer added, “Today has been a circus, and fuck you Southwest. I was literally going to cry — it was so embarrassing, literally just being slut shamed in front of everybody.”
She then displayed a screenshot of Bobadilla’s tweet, adding, “If it wasn’t for this lady, my angel, I love her.”
“I was more clothed than half of the plane, because, you know, its 103 degrees out, like everyone’s wearing short and tank tops,” Jacy added. “Anyways, this lady sticks up for me, respectfully sticks up for me to this employee, and then ends up getting kicked off. For what?”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.