A South Korean DJ shocked many with a story of being escorted off a plane and harassed over the sweatpants she was wearing.
DJ Soda, whose real name is Hwang So-hee, spoke out about the incident on Instagram and Twitter after American Airlines staff members made her remove her pants in full view of other traveler's at a gate at New York's JFK airport.
The sponsored RIPNDIP clothing line pants are emblazoned with the word "fu*k you." Hwang said she has worn them throughout her U.S. tour without incident until this week.
See her Instagram post below.
In her Instagram caption, Hwang detailed the embarrassing ordeal.
"I was forced out of the plane and was harassed to take off my pants in front of the flight crews at the gate..."
"...They did not have any problem with me wearing it at the time of check-in nor when I sat down at my seat."
Hwang said she was already sitting down in her seat when the sweatpants suddenly became a problem.
"A staff suddenly approached me to pack up my belongings and leave the plane without any kind of explanation. As I was escorted off the plane, they claimed that my sweatpants were 'inappropriate' and 'offensive,' telling me that I need to take the next flight."
Hwang said she offered to simply change into other pants, but the American Airlines employees refused.
She ended up turning the pants inside out in order to board her original flight to Los Angeles—which required her to disrobe in front of the crew while they made inappropriate comments.
"I ended up taking off my pants in front of the whole crew and standing half-naked... They even sarcastically commented that I could have taken off my pants earlier."
Hwang also mentioned the entire ordeal resulted in a one-hour delay of the flight, causing inconvenience for every passenger on board.
On Twitter, people were appalled by the way Hwang was treated.
an airline staff's job is to ensure everyone's safety during the flight, not to take someone out of the flight because of their clothes (considering how common clothing with profanities are, they'd probably be used to it already) :/https://twitter.com/dj_soda_/status/1518850282490187776\u00a0\u2026— STREAM LOVE SO I CAN EAT! (@STREAM LOVE SO I CAN EAT!) 1651071150
If every other airline has no issue with this and only @AmericanAir has an issue then you know it\u2019s AA\u2019s that\u2019s the issue. Imagine telling people what to dress or how to dress in 2022 and this is America we\u2019re talking about.— MoonieBaboonie\u0701 (@MoonieBaboonie\u0701) 1650959790
can't believe how many people are missing the point here yes she did wear offensive clothes but offered to change them in the bathroom when she was told that it was prohibited,, how AA dealt with the problem was downright offensive— \ub0e0 (@\ub0e0) 1651047959
I think many people miss the point here. The problem is the fact that she had to get naked in front of them even after she offered to go to the bathroom and change— essie\u2077 0610\ud83c\udf37 (@essie\u2077 0610\ud83c\udf37) 1651012633
The thing is, I don\u2019t even notice that her pants has the F word if we didn\u2019t stare at her pants, the pattern make it seem very normal. In 2022, where an American airline was so fragile about words on a pant lol. Whatever.https://twitter.com/dj_soda_/status/1518850282490187776\u00a0\u2026— \ud835\udc5a\ud835\udc56 (@\ud835\udc5a\ud835\udc56) 1650992028
the gross way @AmericanAir unnecessarily dragged out the situation and made her publicly strip in front of strangers shows they were way more concerned about harassing and humiliating someone over personal issues than sincerely, professionally enforcing a non-hostile environment.https://twitter.com/dj_soda_/status/1518850282490187776\u00a0\u2026— \uff3f|\uffe3|\u25cb (@\uff3f|\uffe3|\u25cb) 1650982649
usa allows people to carry a gun but don\u2019t let people wear a sweatpants that says \u201cfuck you\u201d on it????https://twitter.com/dj_soda_/status/1518850282490187776\u00a0\u2026— holy \u30d1\u30f3\ud83c\udf5e (@holy \u30d1\u30f3\ud83c\udf5e) 1650991580
I feel like people are missing the point that she had to undress in front of the public, and that is the problem. Sounds like a sexual harrassment to mehttps://twitter.com/dj_soda_/status/1518850282490187776\u00a0\u2026— fr\u00e6nk (@fr\u00e6nk) 1651033930
the replies she said she was willing to change but they forced her to remove it in public and even made humiliating comments. disgustinghttps://twitter.com/dj_soda_/status/1518850282490187776\u00a0\u2026— alexa \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25 (@alexa \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25) 1650983801
Absolutely unacceptable. Will not be booking @AmericanAir next month after all.https://twitter.com/dj_soda_/status/1518850282490187776\u00a0\u2026— \uc548\ub2e4\ub798 AndaRae\u2077 (@\uc548\ub2e4\ub798 AndaRae\u2077) 1650982071
Hwang said she will boycott American Airlines over the incident.
@sama/X
