American Airlines Asked Me to Deplane & Cover up Because of My Romper, Woman Says

Dr. Tisha Rowe claims she was unjustifiably called out by an American Airlines flight attendant prior to her flight from Jamaica to Miami for the romper that she was wearing.

Coming from a tropical country known for their beautiful beaches, Dr. Tisha Rowe was wearing a colorful tube romper. While it seemed to be normal for her, it apparently wasn't for one of American Airlines' flight attendants, who briefly removed her from the plane to "cover-up."

Asked to "Cover up"

The doctor, who resides in Texas, says that race was definitely a factor as to why she was taken out of her plane to cover herself with a blanket. She shared about the incident on Twitter, sharing a selfie of the romper she was wearing.

The 37-year-old is a family physician in Houston and founded a telemedicine company in 2014. She claims she was humiliated in front of her 8-year-old son who was traveling with her during that flight.

An issue of race?

According to Dr. Rowe, if she were not black, they wouldn't have seen the same issue.

“Had they seen that same issue in a woman who was not a woman of color, they would not have felt empowered to take me off the plane. In pop culture, especially black women with a body like mine, they’re often portrayed as video vixens. So I’ve had to deal with those stereotypes my whole life.”

American Airlines, after hearing of the incident, issued a full refund for both Dr. Rowe and her son, as well as an apology for their staff's behavior.

“We were concerned about Dr. Rowe’s comments, and reached out to her and our team at the Kingston airport to gather more information about what occurred. We apologize to Dr. Rowe and her son for their experience, and have fully refunded their travel. We are proud to serve customers of all backgrounds.”

A kicked-out family

Earlier this year, American Airlines was also involved in a similar situation where they kicked out a Michigan family of three from one of their planes after other customers complained of body odor.

While already seated in their assigned seats, Yossi Adler, his wife Jennie, and their 19-month-old daughter were asked to deplane. They were supposedly on the way to Detroit from Miami after their vacation. Ultimately, the flight left without them.

Adler, of Jewish descent, explained his side of the story.

"They said, 'Sir, people have complained that you have body odor. I said: 'Excuse me? I need to get home. There is no body odor on me.'"

On American Airlines' defense

The family was only able to head home the day after, and American Airlines defended their actions.

"The Adler family were asked to deplane last night after several passengers, along with our crew members, complained about their body odor. The family were provided hotel accommodations and meals, and re-booked on a flight to Detroit today.”

Adler argued that no one in their family had body odor and that they were being kicked out because they were Jewish. However, American Airlines made sure to let them know that this was not the case.