Will.i.am named and shamed 'racist' Qantas flight attendant but doesn't want her to 'lose her job over it'
Rapper will.i.am claimed that a flight attendant was "racist" and "aggressive" towards him on a Qantas plane from Brisbane to Sydney on Saturday, November 16.
The Black Eyed Peas frontman said that he was working on some music on his computer, wearing noise-canceling headphones on the flight when he missed an announcement to put his laptop away as the plane was preparing to land. He said that one of the flight attendants singled him out as soon as he failed to put his laptop away and an altercation began between the two of them.
He added that while he did not think that the confrontation was that big of a deal, police were called into the plane to meet him, which he found was extreme.
"I've never seen this, it was like a police state," he told the Sunday Telegraph. "I am the coolest traveler, I don't ask for much. I try to stay out of their way. I come on the plane to go to sleep or I go to work. She asked me to put my laptop away and I put it away and I told her to relax because the whole flight she was stressed."
Australian Federal Police officers boarded the plane and had a talk with the musician and his entourage about the incident. Afterward, the rapper received a call from the law enforcement of the country, who told him that no charges will be pressed against him regarding the incident.
While sharing his experience with his fans on his Twitter page, will.i.am said that he was choosing to name the flight attendant because other passengers might have been treated the same way as he was in the past, but might not have the same celebrity profile as him to bring the issue into everyone's attention.
He also maintained that the incident was about race. "I don't want to believe she racist. But she has clearly aimed all her frustrations only at the people of color," he said.
However, he added that he wanted "no harm" to come to the flight attendant. "She shouldn't lose her job over it - if anything she should be retrained on how to deal with people. This is an opportunity to be pleasant to everyone, to just be nice," he said.
Qantas confirmed that the incident took place but denied any claims of racism. "There was a misunderstanding on board, which seems to have been exacerbated by will.i.am wearing noise-canceling headphones and not being able to hear instructions from crew," the company said.
"We completely reject the suggestion this had anything to do with race."
