This archive report was first published on 18 November 2019.
Published on November 18, 2019, will.i.am, a multiple Grammy-winning artist, found himself at the center of a controversy after an altercation with a Qantas flight attendant on a flight from Brisbane to Sydney.
The incident occurred when the flight attendant called the police over an altercation, which will.i.am claimed was escalated unnecessarily after he didn't hear an on-board safety briefing due to wearing headphones.
Using the hashtag #RacistFlightAttendant, will.i.am described the crew member as "beyond rude" and "took it to the next level by calling the police," with five officers waiting for him when the 90-minute flight landed.
"Thank god the other passengers testified that SHE was out of control," tweeted will.i.am, adding that the police had "finally" let him go.
He claimed to have complied "quickly & politely" with instructions from the woman to put his laptop away.
"I don't want to believe she racist. But she has clearly aimed all her frustrations only at the people of colour," he wrote.
Qantas, however, rejected the suggestion that race was a factor in the incident, stating that there was a misunderstanding on board, which was exacerbated by will.i.am wearing noise-cancelling headphones and not being able to hear instructions from the crew.
Initially, the airline expressed a willingness to support will.i.am for the rest of his tour, but later stated that it would be willing to provide legal support for the crew member to take action against the star.
