Andie MacDowell still has plenty of class
Attacked by the Twitter mob for complaining, star was on charity jaunt not a celebrity power trip
What a dreadful time to be a celebrity with a grievance.
This is the downside of fame: if you complain publicly, the public will attack you. You will be scolded and called spoiled or clueless. Your gripe will be dismissed as a “first world problem.” You will soon regret opening your mouth or whipping out your smartphone or having human feelings at all.
Just ask Andie MacDowell.
During a recent flight on American Airlines, the actress and her pooch were downgraded from first class to coach during a layover in Charlotte, N.C. She took to Twitter, the preferred venting garrison for stars with travel snafus, and tweeted at the airline: “@AmericanAir HELP I paid for first class & they put me in tourist because of my dog that I prebooked and paid for.”
These kinds of celebrity tweets are almost like inkblots now. People see different things in the blur. And to many, MacDowell’s plea — especially the irregular usage of “tourist” — seemed like Hollywood entitlement run amok.
As one Twitter user replied: “The horror!!! TOURIST class!! You shouldn’t be forced to sit with filth. You are above us.”
“Oh so sorry my queen,” wrote another. “How dare you be forced to sit with the rubbish in ‘TOURIST’ ” It was, in more all-caps, UNFAIR. It’s not like MacDowell jumped into the ether with a flash bulletin about how she was banished to a fuselage ghetto and was now rubbing elbows with peasants in tattered rags.
In fact, as she patiently explained to detractors this weekend, she often flies “tourist.” She prefers this designation to “coach,” which sounds like you’re crammed in with the baggage.
And you know what? She’s right. It does sound better.
But let’s forget about semantics and focus on what happened here. An airline customer paid for firstclass travel knowing this was the inaugural flight for her beloved rescue dog. Before the connecting flight, she is arbitrarily downgraded without explanation.
This decision, she says, is made by one check-in staffer whom MacDowell later calls “the rudest person I ever had to deal with.”
So she paid for one thing and got something else in return.
This isn’t a story about a bratty star exercising class privilege. It’s a sad tale about customer service, which these days can seem like an oxymoron.
From airlines to cable companies, retail to restaurants, the pendulum has swung from “the customer is always right” to “buyer beware.”
Ending up face-to-face with just one person in a badge who is having a bad day or is prone to power trips can result in a big dose of needless exasperation.
And it’s not like MacDowell freaked out because a valet took an extra 30 seconds to retrieve her Bugatti. She was en route to Myrtle Beach to volunteer helping a charity that promotes literacy. She followed the rules. She worked out the itinerary before leaving Los Angeles.
This wasn’t even about her. Her abiding concern was for the comfort of her dog.
And even after she was wrongly downgraded, she didn’t have a meltdown at 30,000 feet like a Hilton heir or Baldwin brother. She accepted her fate, snapped and posted a grinning selfie with her new seatmates in “tourist.”
She later made it clear the only recourse she was seeking involved a partial refund, which she plans to donate to the literacy charity. This isn’t about the money. It’s about the principle.
So contrary to the scoffing tone of many headlines this weekend — “Andie MacDowell Rants: I Was Downgraded From First Class to ‘Tourist’ Seats Because of My Dog” — this wasn’t a rant at all.
It was a perfectly reasonable response to a perfectly unreasonable situation.
I encourage you to read through her Twitter page. After a few minutes, it will feel like your retinas are coated with molasses. MacDowell is all about kindness and affirmation and helping others and caring for animals and being positive and loving life. You will be left with an overwhelming urge to hug a bunny.
Are we so quick to mock, so comfortable with the mechanics of the celebrity backlash that we can no longer distinguish between real and silly gripes? This wasn’t Ellie Goulding complaining about the taste of Smarties.
Andie MacDowell’s status as a movie star should not disqualify her from expressing a legitimate grievance. This didn’t happen because she is a star. It could happen to any of us. That is the point she was making. vmenon@thestar.ca