8 Black Men Kicked Off American Airlines Flight Over Body Odor: Lawsuit

Photo: Getty Images Eight Black men were temporarily removed from an American Airlines flight over a complaint about body order, according to a new lawsuit. On Wednesday (May 29), a lawsuit was filed on behalf of three of the men — Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph, and Xavier Veal — against American Airlines alleging “blatant and egregious racial discrimination,” per Axios. The lawsuit states the eight passengers were kicked off their January 5 flight from Phoenix, Arizona to New York “without any valid reason, and solely based on their race.” “Representatives of American told them that they were removed from the flight because of a complaint about a Black male passenger who allegedly had offensive body odor,” the suit states. The eight men weren’t seated together and didn’t know each other. According to the lawsuit, the men didn’t have any offensive body odor, and “at no time did anyone ever specifically accuse any of them of having offensive body odor.” “When Plaintiffs pointed out that they were being treated unfairly due to the color of their skin, at least one of the American staff members said she did ‘not disagree,'” the suit reads. According to the lawsuit, the eight men...