(NewsNation) — Rapper Juveneil stormed off his United Airlines flight to Fort Worth, Texas, after his first-class ticket was downgraded to a coach seat.
He documented the incident on Instagram Live, saying, “I’m a celebrity, there’s going to be repercussions,” Juvenile said as a flight attendant attempted to get him to switch seats. “I’m not gonna let y’all disrespect me like that! I’m not gonna let y’all choose me, out of all the people on the plane. I’m not gonna let y’all disrespect me like that, so I’m gonna get off the plane.”
The New Orleans-born artist whose name is Terius Gray, was already on board with his wife Shadonna Jones when flight attendants informed them of the seat change. Jones was not asked to switch seats and can be heard in the livestream defending her husband.
After a heated exchange, Juvenile exited the plane while continuing to stream live on Instagram. As he left the aircraft, he continued, “I fly Delta or jets, I don’t fly this trash anyways.”
After the incident, Juvenile posted another video to social media, showing his history of flights with American Airlines. In the video, he says, “I think I know a thing or two about first class. F— American Airlines, all the money I done spent with you b—-es.” His anger was palpable as he declared, “I ain’t never flew coach. F— y’all. I feel played.”
According to an American Airlines spokesperson, the reason for his downgrade had to do with “downgraded equipment” on the flight itself, which resulted in four fewer first-class seats than initially planned. The spokesperson says affected customers were identified by an automated process and were offered a main cabin extra seat in place of a first class seat.
“American Airlines strives to provide a positive experience to every traveler and we apologize for Mr. Gray’s recent experience with us. An unplanned change in aircraft type affected his seat assignment, and we regret he wasn’t notified prior to boarding. A member of our team has spoken with Mr. Gray personally to resolve the situation.”
