Tamar Braxton was “ridiculed” while on a Delta flight with her sister, according to Fox News . Towanda Braxton uploaded a video to her Instagram page, which shows the pilot speaking to the women about following instructions.
“Here’s how this works,” the pilot begins. “My flight attendants work for me. They give orders that come from me. So if you get an instruction from a flight attendant, I need to know that you are willing and able to do what you’re told to do. Are you willing and able to do what you’re told to do by a flight attendant? Don’t ask me any questions. Answer yes or no.”
When the women answer the pilot with a “yes,” he turns to leave without saying anything further. Towanda captioned the video saying that Tamar “got ridiculed by a pilot for flying while black on Delta. Wow! I guess being a diamond and double million-miler don’t matter.” She added that Delta should be ashamed, and used the hashtags “#WhyArePeopleSoMad” and “#flyingwhileblack.”
But Delta denies the claim that the pilot’s actions were racially motivated. When asked about the incident, the airline, which is headquartered in Atlanta, said that the pilot spoke to Tamar because she was displaying some odd behavior. They added that for the safety of all passengers, those who enter the plane must be willing to follow the flight attendant’s instructions.
“When these customers exhibited some unusual behavior and refused to acknowledge our flight attendant’s instructions, the captain addressed them directly to ensure the safety and security of the entire flight,” Delta added. Shortly after the incident, Tamar and those she traveled with asked to deplane but they did not want to remove their belongings, which is a “federal violation and sparked safety concerns.”
The comments on Towanda’s Instagram story are deactivated now, but a few users called the pilot out, according to Hot New Hip Hop . One commenter said that though it’s unclear what happened between Tamar and the flight attendant, “it must have been something big enough that the pilot left his cockpit to deal with a customer service issue.” Another user called the pilot’s behavior disrespectful, adding that “she is NOT a child just because [he is the] the captain doesn’t give him the right to speak to Tamar like that.”
Even though Delta has stated they don’t think the incident is racially motivated, they are investigating the allegations.