Sha’Carri Richardson was kicked off an American Airlines flight following an altercation with a flight attendant on Saturday. She posted the video to her Instagram.
The 23-year-old claimed a flight attendant disrespected her while she was speaking on her phone prior to takeoff.
“Prior to the video this gentleman asked me to get off a cell phone call, I did,” Richardson captioned one of her videos. “I stated to him I didn’t like the tone he used with me. Following that while standing in front of me doing the safety protocols he continued to lean over to look at my phone. He asked to see that my phones were in airplane more at this point. He demanded that me show him. Which I did in front of him.”
“I’m recording me but you jumped in my video, so I caught you, because you jumped in my video,” Richardson told the flight attendant. “You’re harassing me at this point, so I think you should stop. I think you should stop.”
Multiple passengers can soon be heard engaging with her as they grew aggravated by her actions.
“Y’all see him right? Y’all see him right? Y’all see him right? I’m sorry, it’s not me,” Richardson responded. “Talk to him. No ma’am. Do no talk to me like that. I’m an adult. Do not talk to me like that. Do not talk to me like that. Tell him to stop. If you do not know what’s going on, do not yell at me.”
Another passenger can be heard telling her “Thank you, by the way, I’m going to miss my connection, I have to now get off the plane.”
“Oh, so you’re worried about a connection when a grown man is disrespecting me?” Richardson responded.
“I don’t give a s–t,” the passenger responded.
As she made her way off the plane, applause could be heard as she fat shamed and privileged shamed others.
“Tell me if I’ll be wrong to pursue legal actions against the airline @americanair not only did the man threaten me but also an innocent bystander who simply just wanted a picture with me. In the beginning of the video you can hear a Caucasian male state that he doesn’t give a f as a man that male flight attendant is intimidating a woman,” Richardson posted. “Also the captain not doing anything to help the situation and this flight attendant has the applause when I exited the plane when I’m pretty serious the disrespect I received would not have happened if I was a one of them.”
Richardson qualified for the 2020 Olympics, but was later disqualified after testing positive for marijuana. She first rose to prominence while starring for LSU’s track and field team, breaking the NCAA 100-meter record as a freshman.
Richardson returned to competition in August 2021 at the Prefontaine Classic. She finished last in the 100 meters.
