Leisha Hailey, ‘L-Word’ Actress, Booted From Southwest Flight For Same-Sex Canoodling

Posted: September 27, 2011

leisha hailey southwest

40-year-old Leisha Hailey of Showtime’s The L Word- a kind of female version of the gay dramedy Queer as Folk- was kicked off a Southwest flight for kissing her girlfriend.

Hailey took to Twitter to rail against the injustice, claiming the decision to remove the actress and her partner was discriminatory. She sent a series of tweets after the incident describing her version of events and demanding Southwest apologize:

I have been discriminated against by @SouthwestAir. Flt. attendant said that it was a “family” airline and kissing was not ok… This is an outrage. I demand a public apology by @SouthwestAirand a refund. Hate is not a family value. I will never fly this airline.

Hailey continues:

We were escorted off the plane for getting upset about the issue.@SouthwestAir endorses homophobic employees. No one made her accountable… 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.

And she claims:

Did I mention to @SouthwestAir that I have a lot of their actions recorded on audio and video? RT #boycottSouthwest#discrimination

Southwest is offering a different version of events, however, saying the situation “escalated to a level that was better resolved on the ground” and releasing the following statement addressing Hailey’s claims:

Initial reports indicate that 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 conversation escalated to a level that was better resolved on the ground, as opposed to in flight. We regret any circumstance where a passenger does not have a positive experience on Southwest and we are ready to work directly with the passengers involved to offer our heartfelt apologies for falling short of their expectations.

Somewhat awkwardly, Southwest is the official airline of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and the advocacy group is currently reviewing the incident.

By Kim LaCapria

More Posts By Kim LaCapria

Comments

9 Archived Responses to “ Leisha Hailey, ‘L-Word’ Actress, Booted From Southwest Flight For Same-Sex Canoodling ”

Brittany Heath
Sep 27, 2011

I have been on flights and have seen plenty of straight couples almost getting down and dirty in the seats and no repremand has ever been made to them, no this was discrimination based on a same sex actions. If people complained it was because they were of the same sex and seeing them close made the passengers/crew uncomfortable simple as that. No one complains if its a opposite sex couple in fact most people awwww over it and think young love. If it makes the people uncomfortable don't look, everyone has the right to love, whomever it might be. Life is to short not to find love and to be happy, its a individuals right and choice and no one can judge or has the right to.
Bev Whiteman
Sep 27, 2011

This behavior, in my opinion, should be private. Only perverts want to watch it!
Julie Beaman
Sep 27, 2011

Where was Southwest when last week, The couple sitting next to me were kissing and groping throughout the entire flight? Did I mention they were a heterosexual couple? I guess that is ok.
Rosa Lambert
Sep 27, 2011

just be respectful of others and keep your groping behind closed doors and that also goes for heterosexual couples.
Dez Crawford
Sep 27, 2011

It's kind of hard to throw people off the plane once it's taken off. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) If the heterosexual couple started groping before the flight started, the staff should have intervened. They also should have intervened if the groping started at 30,000 feet. If they didn't intervene, then shame on Southwestern for ignoring heterosexual PDAs and singling out gays. I was once treated to the sight of a middle-aged businessman openly groping his barely legal female companion for the duration of a flight. Not holding hands, exchanging the occasional light kiss, or hugging. It was groping. Blech.
Dez Crawford
Sep 27, 2011

Anything beyond a hug, handholding, an arm around the shoulders, or an affectionate kiss is awkward for others to watch, regardless of who is kissing whom. We all know the difference between simple affectionate behavior and sexual foreplay. A gay couple shouldn't be thrown off a flight for showing simple affection while the heterosexual couple across the aisle engages in similar behavior – that's just plain wrong. But everybody, gay or straight, should wait till they get to their rooms at the other end of the flight before they start groping each other. That's just ordinary good manners. To me, this incident sounds more like a case of in-your-face, privileged-celebrity misbehavior than gay discrimination. Is there a record of Southwest throwing less famous same-sex couples off the plane for exchanging a kiss or holding hands?
Frank Hunter
Sep 27, 2011

Why push it to the limits, or in their case past the limits.
Anonymous
Sep 28, 2011

Were the couple being too affectionate in public? Would a straight couple have received a reproach had it been them sitting in the same seats? Why do some of us get so uncomfortable when it comes to the public display of affection of same sex relationships? And should Ms Hailey have bitten the bullet and piped down or was she right to insist that she be allowed to be free to express her affection for her girlfriend even in a closed container like a plane as opposed to a park?

http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2011/09/singer-actress-leisha-hailey-kicked-off-southwest-for-making-out-with-her-girlfriend/