Qantas flight attendant accused of racist remark
A comedian has accused a Qantas flight attendant of making a racist jibe he says was far from funny.
Paul Ogata was flying from Los Angeles to Sydney last week for a tour of New South Wales and Queensland when his trip was soured by remarks made by one member of the cabin crew.
He told news.com.au he was astounded at the response he got when he asked for the beef dish at meal time.
“I was greeted with this Qantas steward’s loud response, ‘You don’t want the Asianchicken? What a disgrace!”
The US-based comic says passengers around him laughed, while he sat there feeling humiliated and furious.
“I have been exposed to racism (in the past) — usually one-on-one with others on the street. But this flight attendant was on the job, so his actions, while not horrifying, were surprising,” he told news.com.au.
Ogata confronted the flight attendant when the plane had landed in Sydney, but says he brushed it off, saying he often made comments of that nature and claiming ‘most people laugh’.
The comedian then vented on Twitter and has since been assured the incident will be investigated.
A Qantas spokesman confirmed the matter is the subject of an internal investigation.
“We consider racism deplorable and unacceptable wherever it occurs.”
