Benzino found himself in a heated situation earlier this week when he was kicked off a flight in Chicago after he accused a flight attendant of racial profiling. Benzino remained silent on the matter until a video of Benzino screaming at the man went viral. Now, Benzino is opening up about the matter and explains that the airline apologized to him.
In an interview with TMZ, Benzino explained that he and his new wife were the last people to board the first class section of an AirTran Airways flight from Las Vegas to Atlanta. Benzino says that as soon as he and his wife sat down, a male flight attendant demanded they show their tickets for the flight.
Benzino says he was insulted and that he was only asked to prove he had first-class tickets because he’s black.
“They basically were talking to me very disrespectful[ly] and came at me inappropriate[ly]. That’s why I was upset about the situation. I am not the one to scream the race card unless I truly believe I am being treated not equal,” said Benzino.
Benzino says that a rep from AirTran admitted that the airline was wrong and apologized to him and his wife. AirTran also gave them two $200 vouchers.
It’s saddening that an AirTran employee would racially profile any passenger, whether a celebrity or not, and we hope that the flight attendant was properly disciplined for the incident. –nicholas robinson
