Will.i.am: Where is the love?
Hip-hop icon will.i.am has lambasted a Qantas flight attendant, accusing her of racism, after an incident on his way to Auckland.
Flying from Brisbane to Sydney in Australia, the 44-year-old said the flight attendant abused him for not putting away his laptop fast enough.
Will.i.am, who will perform with the Black Eyed Peas at Friday Jams in Auckland tonight, claimed on Twitter he was targeted because he was “of colour”.
“I’m sorry to say me and my group have experienced the worst service due to an overly aggressive flight attendant . . . . She has clearly aimed all her frustrations only at the people of colour.”
Later, he followed up with a second tweet featuring a picture of a policeman and named the attendant, labelling her racist.
“She sent the police after me because I couldn’t hear the PA while making beats on the plane wearing noise-cancelling headphones.”
He said police let him go after other passengers testified on his behalf.
Another passenger on the flight apologised on “behalf of Australia” and said they couldn’t believe the behaviour of the attendant.
But the musician received backlash online for naming the attendant, who began to receive abuse from will.i.am’s followers.
He tweeted again, to urge people to treat each other with respect.
“Please do not send hate . . . because it was the lack of compassion that caused this.”
Jason Derulo, Keri Hilson, and Sisqo join Black Eyed Peas for the Western Springs event tonight.