American Airlines rejected claims by a right-wing influencer that a passenger was told to change a pro-Charlie Kirk shirt mid-flight, calling the story false.
British far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos reported on X that the incident happened on a flight from Dallas Fort Worth, Texas, to New York on Wednesday.
“HAPPENING NOW: A stewardess on @AmericanAir flight 1628 just demanded that this passenger change out of her Charlie Kirk
“Freedom” shirt, claiming it is ‘offensive’ to the crew,”
Yiannopoulos wrote, tagging U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in the post.
He also shared a screenshot, allegedly sent by the passenger, and a picture of a shirt that read “I stand with Charlie Kirk” on the back.
American Airlines was quick to respond to Yiannopoulos to fact check his claims.
“Wearing a Charlie Kirk Freedom t-shirt is not in violation of any of our policies,”
the airline replied on X.
“Currently, we have not received any complaints from any individuals traveling on that flight, but are actively engaged and investigating.”
In the screenshot of the message, the alleged passenger said that a flight attendant had approached them once they had taken their seat and “asked if I was wearing a political shirt.”
“I said no, as it's not political rather, honoring another human being who was murdered and prayer for our entire country, not one party or the other,”
the alleged passenger wrote.
“She proceeded to tell me that I needed to either change or turn it inside out as it was offensive to her crew. I asked who was offended and she again repeated, ‘it's offensive to my crew.’
Let me clarify, when stating crew, Pilots were no where in sight upon boarding this flight, therefore she could have only been referring to the flight attendants.”
Following incidents like Kirk's September 10 assassination, a recent Quinnipiac University research revealed that people are worried about free speech and contentious political discourse.
According to the mid-September survey, 58 percent of participants doubt that it is feasible to "lower the temperature" on such positions, compared to 34 percent who do.
What actions have American Airlines taken against employees related to Charlie Kirk?
American Airlines has disciplined employees for posting on social media that seemed to endorse, or at least celebrate, the killing of Charlie Kirk.
American Airlines quickly responded, enforcing its policies on social media posts, and, in fact, let it be known every post would qualify as a violation of its policy that advocated violence or hostility that would undermine the mission of American Airlines.
The actions were likely prompted by public commentary from officials in the Trump administration who condemned the activities on social media and called for the employees to be fired for supporting the violent actions . The actions of American Airlines also followed the lead of Delta and United, which suspended employees in the epidemic of political and inappropriate posts regarding the incident.