Will.i.am Says “Racist” Qantas Airlines Flight Attendant Called The Police On Him For Wearing Headphones During Safety Briefing

Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am received some less than quality service while onboard a recent Qantas Airlines flight from Brisbane to Sydney. The hip hop artist says he and other passengers on the flight were disrespected by an “overly aggressive” flight attendant, and she even called the police on the rapper for not hearing the PA system announcing safety precautions.

Will.i.am took to Twitter Friday to share his experience. “I’m currently on a flight from Brisbane to Sydney. I’m sorry to say me and my group have experienced they worse service due to a overly aggressive flight attendant… I don’t want to believe she racist. But she has clearly aimed all her frustrations only at the people of colour,” he tweeted.

However, by the time the flight reached Sydney, police were waiting on the rapper when he de-boarded the plane. “This is how youre greeted when you land from Brisbane to Sydney flying #qantas with a #RacistFlightattendant named Lorraine Marshall…She sent the police after me because I couldn’t hear the P.A while making beats on the plane wearing noise-canceling headphones…”

After sharing the incident on Twitter, Will.i.am answered questions from fans and continued to explain his frustrations about what transpired. Most of the responses were in support of Will, but a few questioned his motive behind exposing the flight attendant’s name. One user wrote, “Why not just go through a normal complaint process? Do you understand the intimidation and abuse you are subjecting this woman to with your post?” To which Will.i.am responded, “I was intimidated by 5 police officers when I landed…for what? I put away my laptop when she asked…why would she feel threatened by me to call the police? What did I do wrong? I wasn’t out of hand. I was polite & did what she asked… now you’re asking me to take abuse?”

A Qantas spokesman gave a statement to The Independent saying, “There was a misunderstanding on board, which seems to have been exacerbated by will.i.am wearing noise-canceling headphones and not being able to hear instructions from crew. We completely reject the suggestion this had anything to do with race. We’ll be following up with will.i.am and wish him well for the rest of the tour.”