Black Transgender Woman Kicked Off Plane for ASAP Rocky Shirt, 'Black Panther' Hat

A black transgender woman was kicked off of a United plane after the pilot was "uncomfortable" with her ASAP Rocky shirt and 'Black Panther' hat.

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Complex Original

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Many people are big fans of ASAP Rocky and Marvel's Black Panther. It turns out, though, United Airlines disagrees. A passenger wearing a Black Panther hat and an ASAP Rocky shirt was kicked off a plane because her clothing made the pilot "uncomfortable." 

Amanda Stevens of Albany, New York, is a black transgender freelance journalist. She was hoping to take a flight to Chicago to cover a League of Legends event, according to Gizmodo. She was wearing a hat with the logo of Marvel's Black Panther and an ASAP Rocky shirt with an upside-down American flag (a design that was pulled from PacSun stores last year).

According to Stevens, the shirt made the pilot uncomfortable, so she was told to take it off.

Stevens did turn the shirt inside out by the time she got on the plane. Yet after that, once seated on the plane, she was told that she couldn't wear her hat either. She tweeted that the incident is "unreal and fucking racist."

Of course, Stevens wasn't too happy with the pilot:

Then, the next thing she knew she was booted from the plane.

Stevens told Gizmodo after being allowed to board, she had "a tense exchange" with a flight attendant who asked her to put her bag under the seat in front of her. At that point, Stevens explained, "I didn't know if I was going to be staying on the plane or not and I said that." She "was grumbling because I was frustrated." That exchange is the reason she was kicked off the plane, Stevens was told. 

Later that afternoon, Stevens was able to get a new flight and she "landed in one piece" in Chicago.

United didn't have much to say about the incident. It released a short statement last night saying the company's in contact with Stevens and "Both United and SkyWest hold our employees to the highest standards of professionalism and have zero tolerance for discrimination." 

Some people tweeted that they'll no longer take United Airlines:

Stevens says the incident made her learn what some people think of the Black Panthers:

But it wasn't all bad news for Stevens. Ta-Nehisi Coates, who writes Black Panther, tweeted his support:

Coates' tweet prompted Stevens to say, "Alright, this is dope. What happened today sucks, but since it led to this....dope."

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