(Image source: AfterEllen/Robin Roemer)
BY TRACY PFEIFFER
ANCHOR LAUREN GORES
She kissed a girl-- and a lot of people apparently didn’t like it.
“‘L Word’ actress Leisha Hailey says she was escorted off a Southwest flight after kissing her girlfriend. …Apparently the flight attendant told them that other passengers had complained after witnessing the PDA.”
Hailey is best known for playing bisexual reporter Alice Pieszecki in the Showtime series ‘The L Word’ and is currently in the band Uh Huh Her. (Video: KATU)
Hailey says she was informed by Southwest staff that the airline is a quote - “family” airline.
And after the incident, she took her grievances to the webosphere, calling for a boycott and Tweeting...
“Since when is showing affection towards someone you love illegal? I want to know what Southwest Airlines considers as ‘family.’”
There’s some back-and-forth about the nature of the alleged PDA -- though Hailey claims it was just a peck.
Southwest reportedly tweeted Hailey back saying they’d get to the bottom of it, and later released a statement.
“Southwest posted on its website that Hailey was approached based solely on behavior and not gender and says the disagreement would be better resolved on the ground.”
The story sparked outrage in LGBT media. A writer for Lez Get Real isn’t buying the airline’s explanation.
“Of course, what they forget is that there are people for whom a peck on the cheek or holding hands is too much and too excessive, and that they had a choice between being discriminating a**holes and telling the other passengers to cope. … who are you going to be more concerned about? The bigots or the victims here?”
And a writer for Autostraddle says this is certainly a “sticky situation,” but suggests the airline itself isn’t to blame.
“Southwest is the official airline of GLAAD and sponsors many of its ceremonies and initiatives … and the company earned a 95 on The HRC Equality Index for LGBT-related corporate responsibility. …But who is empowering employees to make value judgments about their customers?”
Maybe it’s just celebrities that should look out for Southwest flights. New York Mag notes...
“Last winter, director Kevin Smith was booted from one of the airline's planes after he was deemed too fat to fly. More recently, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong was forced from his flight over his saggy pants.”
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