Actress Leisha Hailey, who starred on the Showtime series The L Word, went on a Twitter rant Monday, alleging that she and her girlfriend were escorted off of a Southwest flight for kissing each other.
Photo credit: Eric Charbonneau/Le Studio/Wireimage - Leisha Hailey
“I have been discriminated against by @SouthwestAir,” Hailey Tweeted. “Flt. attendant said that it was a “family” airline and kissing was not ok.”
Criticizing the airline for staffing “homophobic employees,” Hailey added: “Since when is showing affection towards someone you love illegal? I want to know what Southwest Airlines considers as ‘family.’ I know plenty of wonderful same sex families I would like to introduce them to Boycott @SouthwestAir if you are gay. They don’t like us.”
The airline posted a statement late Monday, saying: “We received several passenger complaints characterizing the behavior as excessive.”
“Our crew, responsible for the comfort of all customers on board, approached the passengers based solely on behavior and not gender,” the statement continued. “The conversation escalated to a level that was better resolved on the ground, as opposed to in flight.”
