Ray Lin Howard is a plus-size rapper who goes by the stage name Fat Trophy Wife and claims she was discriminated against for being a "fat, tattooed, mixed-race woman."
Ray Lin Howard is a TikToker who was taking an Alaska Airlines flight. But the plus-size rapper who goes by the stage name Fat Trophy Wife has claimed that she was kicked off the flight because of her attire. The 33-year-old was wearing a crop top and says she was discriminated against for being a "fat, tattooed, mixed-race woman." She uploaded videos of her encounter with the authorities on TikTok. The video of her interrogation with the airport police has over 1.7 million views. The video was captioned: "Flight attendant harassed and called the airport police on me for my inappropriate outfit."
The video starts off with Howard being escorted off the flight by two police officers. In the viral video, she clarifies that she was wearing a sports bra and black leggings when the flight attendant first asked her to put her t-shirt on. She obliged and pulled on a pink crop top. But the flight attendant came back to tell her that her outfit was still inappropriate since her stomach was showing. In a follow-up video, she shows the outfit she was wearing that the flight attendant thought was inappropriate. Howard had on a printed crop top paired with black shorts.
The flight attendant approached her three times to tell her off about her attire. “I said, ‘I am covered up, I’m fine,’ but she kept going," Howard explained to the officer in the video. "I said, ‘If you are going to kick me off, then kick me off. I have done what you have asked me to do, I want you to leave me alone.’” She added, "I'm being harassed and now I'm being detained. I wore an outfit. That's what happened." She went on to say that she would like to be let go because she had a show to perform which was why she was getting on the flight in the first place.
The officer who had detained her said that the interrogation was part of the due process to ensure she had not committed a crime. He assured her that after hearing her side of the story it did not seem like there was a crime committed and it was just the flight's dress code policy. “I looked it up, I am within the dress code," Howard responded tearfully. "I am being harassed and now I am being detained. You pulled me off the plane in front of my child.” The dress code policy for Alaska Airlines states: “The dress code on Alaska is casual, and the requirement is simply a neat and well-groomed appearance. Clothing that is soiled or tattered and bare feet is never acceptable. You are expected to use good judgment, but customer service agents will have the final authority to refuse travel for inappropriate attire or appearance.”
"I felt like I was being discriminated against for being a fat, tattooed, mixed-race woman, which in turn left me full of emotions like anger, disappointment, helplessness, humiliation, and confusion," she said, according to the Daily Mail. On her TikTok video, many users encouraged her to sue the airlines. Others pointed out that they had seen or themselves worn outfits similar to that of Howard and were not stopped. One user said: “It is because you are a bigger girl! This is not okay! They need to just say that. I wore a crop top throughout the airport and on the plane and no one said a word.” Another person noted: "He sounds so nervous because he knows they were wrong."
A spokesperson for Alaska Airlines said, as per Express UK: "We are in contact with the guest. We are committed to finding out what happened and taking the appropriate actions. It is our goal to provide caring service to all of our guests. When we don’t live up to that goal, we do everything we can to make it right."
References
https://www.tiktok.com/@fattrophywife/video/7004021405222210822?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
https://www.tiktok.com/@fattrophywife/video/7004028319612046598?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
https://www.alaskaair.com/content/travel-info/before-your-trip/travel-tips/guest-pass-faq
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9962793/Plus-size-woman-claims-Alaska-Airlines-attendants-kicked-flight-wearing-crop-top.html
https://www.express.co.uk/travel/articles/1487042/Alaska-airlines-passenger-kicked-off-plane-crop-top-tiktok-fattrophywife
Image Source: TikTok/fattrophywife
