will.i.am met by police at Sydney airport after accusing Qantas flight attendant of racism
Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am met by police at Sydney Airport as he says Qantas flight attendant was ‘beyond rude’.
Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am has accused a Qantas flight attendant of being “racist” and “beyond rude” to him during a flight from Brisbane to Sydney.
The rapper was met by police at Sydney Airport on Saturday after he clashed with the flight attendant, who he claims was “overly aggressive” to him because he couldn’t hear her through his noise-cancelling headphones.
“I’m sorry to say me and my group have experienced they (sic) worse service due to a overly aggressive flight attendant … I don’t want to believe she racist. But she has clearly aimed all her frustrations only at the people of colour,” he tweeted.
Iâm currently on a flight from Brisbane to Sydney.
— will.i.am (@iamwill) November 16, 2019
Iâm sorry to say me and my group have experienced they worse service due to a overly aggressive flight attendant...
I donât want to believe she racist.
But she has clearly aimed all her frustrations only at the people of colour
In subsequent tweets, the rapper used the hashtag #racistflightattendant, named the woman and shared an image of her and an Australian Federal Police officer. ”.@Qantas Your #RacistFlightattendant was beyond rude & took it to the next level by calling the police on me. thank god the other passengers testified that SHE was out of Control the police finally let me go. Imagine if the police were as aggressive as (the flight attendant),” he wrote.
Iâm sorry? Is callin the police on a passenger for not hearing he P.A due to wearing noise canceling headphones appropriate? If didnât put away my laptop âin a rapid 2min timeâ Iâd understand. I did comply quickly & politely, only to be greeted by police. I think I was targeted https://t.co/8WVIuMKXJa
— will.i.am (@iamwill) November 16, 2019
Others on board the flight took to Twitter to corroborate the rapper’s account. But Qantas “completely reject” the allegation that the incident had anything to do with race.
“There was a misunderstanding on board, which seems to have been exacerbated by will.i.am wearing noise cancelling headphones and not being able to hear instructions from crew,” a spokesman said in a statement.
I wasnât ignoring the safety briefing...& I was paying attention...I put on my headphones 20min into the flight..:thanks... https://t.co/lPpIVQe9aO
— will.i.am (@iamwill) November 16, 2019
“We’ll be following up with will.i.am and wish him well for the rest of the tour.”
will.i.am is in Australia with the Black Eyed Peas as part of the band’s 2019/2020 world tour and is performing in Homebush on Saturday night.
AAP