Southwest calls woman's outfit "offensive," deplanes flyer for sticking up for her (VIDEOS)

Southwest Airlines is under fire after accounts from two women surfaced on social media, detailing an incident where a flyer’s outfit was policed and another was deplaned.

Melinna Bobadilla, who set her Twitter account to private mode today, tweeted about the case on July 11, alleging that she was pulled off a Southwest plane flying from Sacramento, California, for advocating for another woman who was being shamed for wearing a corset-style tank top by one of the carrier’s employees.

The Southwest worker said the woman’s outfit was too revealing and could be offensive to the families on the plane. Bobadilla inquired about what rules the woman was breaking but was kicked off the flight in response. Both flyers are women of colour and according to their testimonies, the police were also called on them.

“Hey friends just got pulled off a Southwest Air flight [because] I advocated for a young woman being shamed and harassed by an employee for wearing a tank top that was deemed too revealing,” she tweeted, following with additional details in a thread.

@MelinnaTeatrina/Twitter

Here is the rest of Bobadilla’s now-privatized thread, edited for clarity:

She [the Southwest staffer] responded with, “She’s 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[nded] by the man directly behind me wearing a “Let’s Go Brandon” shirt, and she did not care.

Basically, @SouthwestAir slut-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, [and] exercised a double standard when enforcing an alleged offensive attire rule

The raggedy folks at @SouthwestAir 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.

@SouthwestAiris steamy, stale trash. Go out of business already.

Meanwhile, over on TikTok, the woman who was dress-coded posted a video from the plane, showing her wearing a pink corset that covers her torso and chest like any tank top with spaghetti straps would. She can be seen holding up the pink T-shirt given to her by the employee to “cover up.”

Jacy, aka @maybejacy on TikTok, overlaid her caption with a terse message for the airline.

“Bro, I got dress-coded on a Southwest flight? Are we in high school? Are you upset about my shoulders? It’s 102°? My torso is fully clothed? And it caused a scene because some sweet lady stuck up for me and then got kicked off the flight. Whoever’s grandma complained about me, catch me outside, b*tch.”

@maybejacy give me my money back smelly hoes @Southwest Airlines or send me a bottle of expensive champagne 😘 #fyp ♬ life support mashup by mvlfoy – toukass

The two women did not know that either had posted about the incident on social media until later. Jacy thanked Bobadilla in a video posted later that day.

“I was about to cry. It was so embarrassing just literally being slut-shamed in front of everybody,” she began.

@maybejacy #greenscreen the world hating women ig #fyp ♬ original sound – jacy

Jacy shared the tweets posted by Bobadilla and said she would’ve cried if it wasn’t for her support. “My angel. I love her,” she added.

The flyer said she was tapped on the shoulder and asked if she had a jacket because she needed to cover up. When she said no, the staffer said she was going to get her a T-shirt to do so. Jacy refused to put on the shirt.

That’s when Bobadilla had to step into the situation. She was swiftly deplaned for advocating for Jacy, who plans on sending her flowers since she found her online.

Jacy also went on to say she was more clothed than half of the people on the plane, as it was a hot day and most people were wearing shorts and tank tops.

Southwest Air responded to Bobadilla on Twitter, apologizing for what happened and asking her to get in touch with additional details.

Thanks for reaching out, Melinna, and we’re sorry to hear you were unable to travel to your destination as planned. Please send us a DM with your confirmation #, as well as any additional details about your experience you wish to share, and we’ll follow-up with you ASAP. -Brenna https://t.co/mQmfkXW4oV

— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) July 11, 2022