Three days ago, Marlon Wayans booked a flight on United Airlines to Kansas City. Seven Instagram posts and a citation later, Marlon has now switched to Delta Airlines.
American comedian and actor Marlon Wayans, known for his work on “White Chicks” and “Scary Movie,” was scheduled to perform at a sold-out stand-up show on June 9th at Kansas City Improv. He just so happened to book a flight on United Airlines and was set to fly to Kansas City on the same day as the opening of his sold-out show.
However, Marlon had quite a sour encounter with one of the gate agents at the Denver International Airport. After the upsetting event, Marlon took to Instagram to slam United Airlines for mistreating him and targeting him due to his race. The entire ordeal had Marlon ranting on social media, but United Airlines has stood its ground and has not admitted to any of the allegations Wayans has made so far. The Denver Police Department has also released a statement regarding their involvement in the matter, again, not defending Marlon.
The claims of Marlon Wayans have the Internet divided, debating the rights and wrongs of the situation and if what Marlon experienced was indeed racial discrimination or just customer protocol that all passengers are typically subject to. Keep scrolling to know what Marlon, United Airlines, and the Internet have to say about the whole mess.
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Marlon Slams United Airlines For Harassment
On 9th June, Marlon uploaded the first of his multiple posts slamming United Airlines for the alleged mistreatment he received from their employee, a gate agent.
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The comedian apologized to Kansas City fans, telling them that he may miss all of his shows on the 9th or, in the best-case scenario, show up late. He then proceeded to tell his audience that the reason he was going to miss his shows was due to a rude United Airlines gate agent and went on to tell United to “pick better people” to work for them.
In his following post, he praised American Air for their great service and said, “No more @united for me.” He alleged that the United airline employed had mistreated “a first-class brother” and that they owed him compensation for making him miss his Kansas shows.
The real issue here was that Marlon Wayans was set to board his flight with three bags. According to Marlon, the United employee told him that United has a ‘two-bag policy,’ so Marlon would not be allowed to bring in three bags. Wayan’s spokesperson, Leslie Sloane, listed Wayans’ luggage as one backpack, a small knapsack, and a garment bag.
Marlon said he “complied and consolidated them” but was then told that the bag needed to be checked since it was “too big” on a plane that was not even full.
This was when things escalated, and Marlon simply grabbed his bags and attempted to board the plane. Following this, Marlon was forcibly sent out of the aircraft and was issued a citation from the Denver Police Department for “disturbing the peace.”
Additionally, the employee claimed that Marlon had “assaulted” him, which Marlon denied and pointed out was a lie, referring to the viral video of his encounter with the employee.
Marlon, in another post, explained how the heated interaction with the employee was unusual for him and that those close to him know that he is a “mild-mannered” person. He then called out the employee for lying. He continued, saying that what he went through was harassment and that Black people always experience “all kinds of racism and classism”. He then asked United for an apology and money for the shows he missed due to the incident. He called the employee’s interaction with him “the highest level of disrespect.”
While Marlon is still waiting on an apology and compensation from United, he has posted his wholesome and positive experience with Delta Airlines, thanking them for “rinsing the bad taste of @united” out of his mouth.
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United And The Denver Police Department Respond
The only United response that was released was a statement that did not refer to Marlon by name but instead described an incident where a customer “pushed past a United employee” and tried to board the plane despite being informed that he would be required to gate-check his bag.
Another indirect response from United is one that Marlon described in a post of his, where he told his followers that United Airlines’ corporate representative had called him and defended their employee, implying that Marlon was in the wrong.
The Denver Police Department, too, released a statement, informing people that Marlon Wayans was “cited for Disturbing the Peace and released.”
Although the United has had its fair share of controversies and complaints, the Internet seems to be divided over this matter. On the one hand, people rushed to Marlon’s defense and shared their own stories of unfortunate experiences with United Airlines, but on the other hand, some claimed that Marlon was in the wrong and that he was just being asked to act in a way that aligns with United’s airline policies.
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