This archive report was first published on 18 November 2019.
On November 16, 2019, US performer will.i.am was involved in an altercation with a Qantas flight attendant during an Australian domestic flight.
According to will.i.am, the flight attendant was "overly aggressive" and unnecessarily escalated a situation after he didn't hear an on-board safety briefing.
will.i.am, the frontman of the Black Eyed Peas, took to Twitter to share his side of the story, using the hashtag #RacistFlightAttendant.
He claimed that the attendant was "beyond rude" and "took it to the next level by calling the police", five of whom were waiting for him on arrival in Sydney following the 90-minute flight from Brisbane.
"Thank god the other passengers testified that SHE was out of control," he tweeted. "The police finally let me go."
A Qantas spokesman responded to the allegations, stating that the Australian flag carrier "completely" rejected the suggestion that race was a factor in the incident.
"There was a misunderstanding on board, which seems to have been exacerbated by will.i.am wearing noise cancelling headphones and not being able to hear instructions from crew," he said.
Qantas also expressed their wish for will.i.am's well-being for the rest of his tour.
