A lesbian TikTok player claims she was banned from flying on American Airlines because she had sex with a man during the flight (J. David Ake/Getty Images)
A lesbian claims she was banned from flying with American Airlines because, according to the airline, she had sex with a man in a restroom during a flight.
Erin Wright, who posts on TikTok under the name @erin_wright, uploaded a four-minute video to the platform on August 8 with the caption: “How I was permanently banned from flying on American Airlines for having sexual relations with a man on the plane, even though I’m a lesbian.”
In the video, which has been viewed nearly three million times and liked 300,000 times, Wright describes in detail how she wanted to fly to her sister’s hen party but was not allowed on board. She initially tried to check in using her phone, but when that didn’t work, she went to the airline’s help desk at the airport, which also failed, and staff then called higher up.
“The lady (gate agent) looks nervous and says, ‘Ma’am, I’m really sorry to tell you this, but you have been banned from flying on American Airlines.'”
Wright was confused and asked the agent to explain to her the reasons why she was placed on the no-fly list, but because it was “an internal security issue,” the check-in agent could not tell her, saying, “The person on the phone told me you should know why.”
While she was still at the airport and time was running out before her flight, Wright tried in vain to find out the reason for the ban.
“I realised I was going to miss my flight and I just had to book another one. I quickly booked another return flight to New Orleans for $1,000 (£780),” Wright said, noting that she had to wait eight hours for that flight. “I thought, I’ll sort this out and they’ll refund me. It’s going to be OK.”
However, Wright continued to say that was not OK. Numerous emails and 12 days later – and still no refund – she was told that the reason for the ban was because she had engaged in sexual activity with a man while intoxicated on board an airplane.
“Let me tell you: I am a 24-year-old lesbian. You see me. Do I have sexual relations with any man? No,” she said sneeringly into the camera.
Wright said she used a number of “loopholes” to resolve the issue, saying the team at American Airlines told her to file an official appeal to be removed from the no-fly list.
“I sent them a very serious but also somewhat funny email: ‘I don’t really know how to prove it wasn’t me other than the fact that I’m a lesbian and I get letters from other people telling you that’s the truth,'” said Wright, who, as she recalled, was obviously upset about the situation.
Wright’s mother vouched for her daughter by sending an email to the airline’s legal department, and Wright eventually received a call back from an employee who said that after a review, they had concluded that she was most likely not the one who ended up in the toilet.
“So now I’m off American Airlines’ permanent no-fly list and I’ve also lost $1,000. However, they did refund me for the $400 (£312) flight but said they couldn’t send me a higher amount even though it was their fault I had to book that $1,000 round-trip flight,” Wright said.
In a follow-up video posted on Sunday (August 11), Wright told her followers that the virality of the original video helped her win back her lost money.
“I’m really grateful for all your help and for getting the video out there because it saved me a lot of stress financially and I’m grateful for the community that TikTok has given me.”
PinkNews has contacted American Airlines for comment.
