Well it’s just hard to figure out who to believe here (or is it?).
Yesterday our story on the Brandon T. Jackson vs. US Airways incident, according to TMZ, showed Jackson saying a flight attendant named “Dee” called him the n-word; and the airline stood by her claiming they ultimately had to land their flight prematurely because of Brandon’s drunk and unruly behavior.
But Brandon wasn’t going out like that, no sir! He vowed, most likely through gritted teeth, that passengers aboard the flight witnessed the faux pas and would come forward. In a “no sooner said than done” response, they have started to do exactly that.
“He wasn’t being rowdy at all, and definitely not intoxicated,” says Elisabeth Schwarz, who was sitting next to the Percy Jackson actor – helping him run lines. “There was another exit row in front of us that was standing, drinking and making noise. We were all in shock when the attendant insinuated other passengers were complaining. The other flight attendant even told us we weren’t doing anything wrong,” she offered.
Love Black America Web? Get more! Join the Black America Web Newsletter
We care about your data. See our privacy policy.
And in a totally gracious move Jackson said, “I realize this was just one flight attendant having a bad day and I appreciate the support of the other passengers, US Airways staff at the Phoenix airport, and the Phoenix airport police.”
Brandon’s publicist gives this version of what went down:
Brandon was flying to LA on Monday for an audition and was rehearsing lines with the passenger next to him, Elisabeth Schwarz, who he just met. They weren’t served any food or beverages and were told that the passengers in the exit row were being too loud, even though no passengers had any issues with him. When Brandon went to the back of the plane to ask for a couple of sandwiches and explain that it wasn’t his row causing a disturbance and that he was an actor practicing his lines, the flight attendant told him to sit down and “I don’t care if you’re Obama’s son,” then used a derogatory word – seemingly in jest. Regardless of how it was intended, it obviously upset Brandon, so he said he was going to report it to the airline. After that, the attendant made the pilot aware, handed him paperwork and called in to the connecting airport (Phoenix) that Brandon was being disruptive. The flight attendant made it seem to Brandon that they were going to land prematurely because of him, which alarmed him (and the reason he took to Twitter immediately). He was questioned by authorities when they landed in Phoenix. After confirming that he wasn’t intoxicated nor disturbing any passengers (in fact 13 passengers stayed to confirm Brandon’s story and almost missed their flights), Brandon was put on the first flight to Burbank the next morning since he missed his connecting flight.
Are we wondering who paid for his overnight stay?
At the very least, this is not a good look for US Airways who, apparently, continues to stand by their initial story.
“The disruptive behavior started with loud music being played by Mr. Jackson at his seat,” a rep for the airline told TMZ. “He was asked several times to turn down the music. Additional erratic behavior was observed and that is when the crew made the decision to stop serving [alcohol to Brandon].”
So, let us get this straight, 13 passengers took it upon themselves to lie for a man they (and no offense here, Mr. Jackson) probably don’t even know?
