Woman Sues JetBlue Over Underwear Confrontation
Word to the wise: Don't take off [your underwear] before takeoff.
Former model Malinda Knowles is suing JetBlue following a "vulgar" confrontation in which she was allegedly kicked off a flight over concerns that she was not wearing underwear, the New York Daily News reports.
Knowles, a New York City-based financial consultant, threw on a baggy T-shirt over denim shorts as she rose at 4 a.m. to catch a Florida-bound flight on July 13, 2010, but claims she was escorted off the plane for not meeting the airline's dress code.
Instead, according to a suit the 27-year-old has filed with Queens Supreme Court, passengers "watched in horror" as a male JetBlue supervisor allegedly ran a walkie-talkie between her legs to determine whether or not she was going commando.
"He said, 'I don't want to see your panties or anything but do you have any on?'" Knowles tells the newspaper. "I didn't want to show him anything. He wanted me to basically show him my crotch. I was completely humiliated. It was vulgar. It was macho. It was rude.
"It was really crazy. I've never had a corporate employee ask me about my underwear."
She says she eventually lifted up her shirt to reveal the shorts, but was told by the supervisor that she could not board the plane as "the captain is refusing to fly you today."
Knowles, who was put on a different flight leaving four hours later, claims that another passenger told her she should hire a lawyer.
She took the advice, and is now seeking unspecified damages in a civil case that charges the JetBlue employee of intentional infliction of emotional distress as well as assault and battery.
"This caused plaintiff great embarrassment and humiliation to be expelled from the flight for no reason at all in front of a fully booked flight," her attorney, Brian Dratch, says.
"I really feel like the guy just wanted to demean me in some way," adds Knowles. "Maybe he thought I was cute. Even so, it was totally inappropriate."
JetBlue has declined to comment.
Meanwhile, a miniskirt-wearing cyclist was recently pulled over for flashing too much skin.
