French Montana Won't Be Flying With Delta Airlines After Racial Profiling Accusation
On Wednesday (Dec. 21), popular YouTube blogger Adam Saleh took to social media to report a racial profiling incident on a Delta Airlines plane where he said he was kicked off of the flight for speaking his native Arabic language.
And after the reported racially-charged incident has made its rounds across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, it’s rubbed one particular rapper the wrong way.
In the video, Saleh holds the camera up to show a flight attendant and several other passengers as he exclaims that he and his friends were being dismissed from the flight for speaking the language.
“Guys, we spoke a different language on the plane and now we’re getting kicked out,” he said, as he repeats the statement over and over throughout the video. “This is 2016! 2016! Look. Delta Airlines.”
Among several views, comments and debates on the video, French Montana dropped in to share how heartbroken he was after watching the video and finding out about Saleh’s Delta Airline experience. Reposting the video to his own Instagram account, French declared that he was disgraced by the reported treatment of Saleh and his counterparts and would not be using the airline anymore.
“I don't like speaking on things like this, but this struck a nerve,” he captioned the video. “I have a mother that doesn't speak English and discrimination like this makes me really sad. The fact that this can happen to her makes me sick. I'm not using Delta anymore. Smh. #equality.”
Several commenters praised the “No Shopping” rapper for his statement as well, while more statements from both Saleh and the airline continue to come. Saleh tweeted that he was held at the airport without any information and the police were brought to speak to him. He added in the series of tweets that, after another lengthy security check, he was flying with another airline to complete his trip to New York City. Delta Airlines also responded via Twitter, stating that after a “disturbance” on the flight, over 20 passengers made complaints about Saleh and his flying buddy and that a full investigation was underway.
“We are taking allegations of discrimination very seriously,” the tweets from the airline’s account reads. “Our culture requires treating others with respect.”
Amid Delta’s statements, some have speculated that Saleh’s claims are skewed due to several prank and experiment videos on his YouTube that involve using suitcase bombs and titles such as, “Arabs on a Plane Prank.” However, Saleh holds that during the time of the incident, he had been on the phone with his mother speaking his native tongue when he was dismissed from the flight.
Check out French’s response to the incident and statements from the parties involved below.