Sandra “Pepa” Denton, half of the iconic duo Salt-N-Pepa, took to Instagram in tears on July 15, alleging she was “wrongfully removed” from a Southwest Airlines flight from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Nashville, Tennessee. According to her video, Pepa claimed the incident stemmed from accusations by the flight crew that she was “disruptive” and had been filming staff without permission.
Pepa, who was on her way to an important meeting in Nashville, explained that she had purchased two seats due to a knee injury from a 2018 car accident, as reported by TMZ. Initially questioned by a male flight attendant about her need for both seats since she wasn’t wearing her knee brace at the time, Pepa clarified and eventually complied by wearing the brace as required by company policy.
Minutes later, someone allegedly asked to sit in her second seat.
However, shortly after that, another passenger requested her second seat, citing a funeral he was attending. This sparked a debate among passengers over whether Pepa should relinquish the seat she had paid for. She challenged the passenger to confirm his reason and “swear” he was telling the truth, but he was given the seat despite his refusal.
During the ordeal, Pepa hopped on FaceTime to make her assistant aware of the situation, discussing whether they should cancel her meeting due to the delay. Her assistant also suggested that she film the incident during their call, TMZ noted. Minutes later, she was unexpectedly removed from the flight without explanation.
After some back and forth with the male flight attendant seen in her video outside of the aircraft, the Southwest employee eventually admitted she was removed for making staff feel “uncomfortable” due to her allegedly filming the crew. However, Pepa insisted that she wasn’t recording. She managed to reschedule her meeting in Nashville and was reimbursed $2500 for the seats but was not compensated for additional expenses incurred.
Pepa plans to pursue legal action concerning possible ADA violations regarding passengers with disabilities. She mentioned that several passengers volunteered to write letters supporting her claims of mistreatment by Southwest.
Southwest provided their perspective to TMZ, stating that agents tried to relocate Pepa to the emergency exit row near the bulkhead after the initial incident, but she declined. The airline also asserted that the Salt-N-Pepa star did not comply with crew instructions, leading to her being denied boarding to prioritize the safety and comfort of other passengers.
Sounds like some bull! Hope you’re feeling okay, Pepa!
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