A young woman has alleged she was "dress coded" by a Southwest Airlines flight attendant, who she says told her to cover up her corset top.
Singer Jacy claims she was left embarrassed and confused after the hostess approached her and asked her to cover herself in front of other passengers, especially as she felt she was "more clothed than half of the plane."
According to Jacy, the majority of passengers were wearing shorts and tank tops in the 103-degree heat, so she didn't understand why she was picked out, or why her outfit was deemed inappropriate.
Another passenger, an actor named Melinna Bobadilla, allegedly stood up for Jacy, and was thrown off the flight. Both women have since called out the airline, with Jacy asking for her money back or "a bottle of expensive champagne."
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Jacy says the female Southwest Airlines employee tapped her on the shoulder, prior to her getting on the plane, and asked her whether she had a jacket or something to put over her top.
When she refused, the woman told her she was going to get her a t-shirt to put over the top of her clothes. She told her she wasn't going to wear the shirt and got on the plane anyway.
Jacy - who goes by the TikTok username @maybejacy - recalled: "I was literally going to cry. I was about to cry. It was literally so embarrassing, just being s*** shamed in front of everybody. If it wasn't for this lady [Melinna], my angel, I love her."
In a TikTok video which has since clocked up 75.6k likes and counting, Jacy can be seen in her plane seat, holding up what appears to be the t-shirt in question.
She wrote: “Bro I got dress coded on a flight? Are we in high school? Are you upset about my shoulders?”
Melinna has since come forward on Twitter to tell her side of the story, claiming the employee "became defensive when I asked about what rules the young woman was breaking."
According to Melinna: "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 offe by the man directly behind me wearing a 'Let’s Go Brandon' shirt, and she did not care."
She added: "Basically, Southwest Airlines s*** shamed a young woman of colour 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
"The raggedy folks at Southwest Airlines in Sacramento disrespected two women of colour, endangered one by needlessly calling the cops, and went out of their way to protect a conservative white man. Yup, that tracks. Southwest Airlines is steamy, stale trash. Go out of business already."
Southwest Airlines replied to Melinna's Twitter thread, which has been widely retweeted, advising her to message them directly with any further details about her experience.
However, Melinna wasn't so sure, replying: "I don’t have faith that this can be rectified via DMs Brenna, unless you are authorised 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."
Melinna went on to allege she had called up the airline, only to be placed on hold for more than an hour on two separate calls, meaning she was unable to resolve the matter. She's also advised she will be seeking legal counsel.
The Mirror has reached out to Southwest Airlines for comment.
Have you experienced a similar incident while travelling? Email us at julia.banim@reachplc.com
