Juvenile accused American Airlines of unfairly bumping him from first class to coach. The rapper chose to get off the plane rather than move to a coach seat.
Juvenile shared video of his encounter with American Airlines employees who politely asked him to change seats.
The 49-year-old “Back Dat Azz Up” rapper was on the flight with his wife, Shadonna Jones. But only Juvenile was asked to move.
“We have the seats,” Jones said to the employees. “I’m his wife, so how could you downgrade him and I can still stay?”
A flight attendant told Jones she was going off of the information in her system.
Juvenile addressed his fans on a livestream video. “Man, they trynna kick me off the plane y’all,” he said. “They trynna take me out of first-class.”
“Where are you tryna put him at?” asked Jones. A male flight attendant responded, ‘We’re gonna put him in coach.”
But Juvie responded, “You ain’t putting me in no coach, man. This ain’t never happened to me in my life. I’m a celebrity, I’m telling you. This is gonna be repercussions… I’ma get off the plane.”
In a follow-up video, Juvenile, born Terius Gray, said he would catch a flight on another airline to make it to his concert in Fort Worth, Texas. Juvie is currently on his “Back That Azz Up 25th Anniversary” tour with Mannie Fresh.
An American Airlines rep gave the following statement to Simpleflying.com:
“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.”
Simple Flying explained that airlines can downgrade passengers for any reason, such as when a flight is overbooked or to accommodate a crew member. Some carriers compensate passengers by offering thousands or dollars in credit for future flights.
Juvenile exits plane after American Airlines attempts to move him from first class to coach??#juvenile #AmericanAirlines #firstclass pic.twitter.com/14LFxJxIg2
— Mo’Money (@MoMoney1230) August 21, 2024
