Bored Panda works better on our iPhone app
Continue in app Continue in browser

Add post form topAdd Post
Tooltip close

The Bored Panda iOS app is live! Fight boredom with iPhones and iPads here.

Viral TikTok Exposes American Airlines For Mistakenly Banning Lesbian Passenger
43

Viral TikTok Exposes American Airlines For Mistakenly Banning Lesbian Passenger

ADVERTISEMENT

“I am a 24-year-old lesbian. Look at me. Am I having sexual relations with any man? No,” argued Erin Wright on TikTok after she was “banned for life” by American Airlines for “having sexual relations with a man while intoxicated.”

The incident occurred while she was traveling to attend her sister’s bachelorette party. She tried checking in for the flight via phone, but she wasn’t allowed to. 

Highlights
  • Erin Wright, a lesbian, was banned for life by American Airlines over a mistaken identity involving sexual relations with a man.
  • Erin spent an extra $1,000 on an emergency flight after being banned, on top of her original $400 ticket.
  • Wright earned over $1,000 from her viral video to cover her expenses and is considering legal action against American Airlines.

Seeing that she would be late to the event if she kept arguing, she decided to go to the airport to complete the process in person, only to be informed by an employee of the decision by the airline to veto her.

“The gate agent was like, ‘I’m really sorry, but it’s an issue of internal security. I can’t tell you, but the person on the phone told me that you should know why,’” she explained.

Wright then reached out to customer service for answers, but they also refused to disclose the reason, instead directing her to a customer relations email address.

RELATED:

    A 24-year-old lesbian was banned from ever boarding American Airlines after the provider mistakenly accused her of “having sex with a man” on a plane

    Image credits: erin_wright

    “I’m really frustrated and have to spend an additional eight hours in the airport waiting for my other flight,” she said.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    With no other choice left, she spent an extra $1,000 for an emergency flight with a different airline, on top of the $400 she’d already paid for her original ticket.

    Almost half a month after she initially contacted American Airlines customer service, Wright was finally informed of the reason that led to her ban via an email from corporate security. 

    The provider apparently mistook her for another woman who had been caught having sexual relations with a man on a flight while intoxicated.

    Image credits: erin_wright

    @erin_wright_ Thanks for being the worst @American Airlines #storytime #funnystory #funnyvideos #airlinetiktok #airplanestory #funny #fyp ♬ original sound – Erin Wright

    After the embarrassing incident, Erin took to TikTok to share her experience. The clip has garnered nearly 300,000 likes and 13,000 comments at the time of writing, with many users empathizing with her and sharing their own bad experiences with the airline.

    “This is the third horror story about American Airlines on my front page. My son and mom were stuck on the tarmac for three hours to ultimately deplane. I will never fly with them!”

    Others wondered why the provider allowed Wright to buy the ticket even though she was banned.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    “So why doesn’t American Airlines notify the passenger if you get banned so that you don’t find out the day of your flight?”

    “Everything else aside, how did they let you book if they banned you?”

    The success of Erin Wright’s viral video made her earn over $1,000 in revenue, helping her cover some of the expenses from her embarrassing experience

    Image credits: erin_wright

    @erin_wright_ Update!!! @American Airlines #storytime #airlinetiktok #airportlife #funnystory #funny ♬ original sound – Erin Wright

    Following the success of her first video, Erin uploaded an update about her situation last Sunday (August 11).

    “So, in June, I was accidentally put on the American Airlines no-fly list because they said I had sex with a man on an airplane even though I’m a lesbian,” she recounted.

    “Because of this, I couldn’t board my flight to my sister’s bachelorette party and ended up having to book up a $1000 roundtrip flight from New Mexico to New Orleans at the last minute.”

    She also confirmed that American Airlines didn’t compensate her for their flight or the extra ticket she had to buy, which led her to make the video in hopes the community would make it go viral.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    “That’s why I made a video and asked people to blow it up so that I could try to recoup the costs of my tickets, and they did!”

    “I made almost the exact amount of money that I’d lost so American Airlines doesn’t even have to try to make it right.”

    Image credits: erin_wright

    Wright also stated that American Airlines has yet to reach out to her to fix things on their end but that she’s still hoping they will. Because of this, she also revealed that she’s considering taking legal action.

    “I’m looking into a lot of things people recommended, like filing a complaint to the Department of Transportation or suing them in court.”

    She ended her update by thanking her viewers and fans, showing that her original clip had made $1,008 thanks to almost a million views that the video had generated. 

    “I’m just really grateful for everyone helping blow the video up. It took a lot of stress off my shoulders financially.”

    Despite being happy about the success of her clip, Erin’s fans remain adamant that American Airlines needs to pay for what they put her through

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Image credits: erin_wright

    Viewers congratulated Wright for making her money back but insisted that the story wouldn’t be over until American Airlines refunded the tickets themselves for their mistake.

    “Making it right by sacrificing their reputation. I love this for you. They should still pay you back for the last minute ticket too,” argued one viewer.

    “The fact that they still haven’t offered you a flight credit at the very least makes my blood boil,” said another.

    American Airlines needs to step up! I won’t fly with them until they make it right with you, please keep us looped in,” urged one fan.

    “Don’t settle babe! I know it’s a lot of work but if you can, keep fighting it,” wrote another.

    “So are we not gonna sue them? I mean $1008.70 is OK but they did you dirty. A lawyer needs to be talked to,” one viewer recommended.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    “Refund is well deserved!” wrote one fan, as others chimed in to urge Wright to pursue legal action against American Airlines

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    Share on Facebook
    Abel Musa Miño

    Abel Musa Miño

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    Abel is a journalist at Bored Panda. Born in Santiago, Chile, he holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication and a diploma in International Relations. In his spare time, you can find him tinkering with his motorbike, playing with his dog, or reading a good novel.

    Read less »
    Abel Musa Miño

    Abel Musa Miño

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Abel is a journalist at Bored Panda. Born in Santiago, Chile, he holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication and a diploma in International Relations. In his spare time, you can find him tinkering with his motorbike, playing with his dog, or reading a good novel.

    Ugnė Lazauskaitė

    Ugnė Lazauskaitė

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    I am employed as a Visual Editor in the news team. I make sure you have the best pictures near the most interesting text. In general all day I am looking at all you favourite celebrities facies and I am geting payed for it!

    Read less »

    Ugnė Lazauskaitė

    Ugnė Lazauskaitė

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    I am employed as a Visual Editor in the news team. I make sure you have the best pictures near the most interesting text. In general all day I am looking at all you favourite celebrities facies and I am geting payed for it!

    What do you think ?
    Add photo comments
    POST
    Emie N.
    Community Member
    4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I don't blame her for being annoyed about them mistaking her for someone else and accusing her of things she didn't do. I'd be pissed!

    Ben Aziza
    Community Member
    4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "prove you did not have sex with a man" is the dumbest things i ever heard... How is the burden of proof on the accused? Ohhhh witch hunts make so much sense now! It is american airlines level of IQ that caused them.

    Load More Replies...
    ByeFelicia
    Community Member
    4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Her sexual orientation has absolutely nothing to do with a case of mistaken identity, but this is terrible. I hope she gets MORE than she's suing for.

    Display_Name
    Community Member
    4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    She is saying that she wouldn’t be having sexual relations with a man because she is a lesbian. I had to rewrite her statement in my head to understand the issue was not due to her sexual preference.

    Load More Replies...
    tori Ohno
    Community Member
    4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Any person doing wrong on a flight should be detained immediately, then banned on the spot. Not later when an employee "thinks" they spot that criminal. Lawsuit.

    Load More Comments
    Emie N.
    Community Member
    4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I don't blame her for being annoyed about them mistaking her for someone else and accusing her of things she didn't do. I'd be pissed!

    Ben Aziza
    Community Member
    4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "prove you did not have sex with a man" is the dumbest things i ever heard... How is the burden of proof on the accused? Ohhhh witch hunts make so much sense now! It is american airlines level of IQ that caused them.

    Load More Replies...
    ByeFelicia
    Community Member
    4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Her sexual orientation has absolutely nothing to do with a case of mistaken identity, but this is terrible. I hope she gets MORE than she's suing for.

    Display_Name
    Community Member
    4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    She is saying that she wouldn’t be having sexual relations with a man because she is a lesbian. I had to rewrite her statement in my head to understand the issue was not due to her sexual preference.

    Load More Replies...
    tori Ohno
    Community Member
    4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Any person doing wrong on a flight should be detained immediately, then banned on the spot. Not later when an employee "thinks" they spot that criminal. Lawsuit.

    Load More Comments
    You May Like
    Related on Bored Panda
    Related on Bored Panda
    Trending on Bored Panda
    Also on Bored Panda