LOS ANGELES — Former “The L Word” star Leisha Hailey on Tuesday defended the lesbian kiss she claims got her booted from a Southwest flight — as the airline said it was actually offensive language that forced staff to remove the actress and her girlfriend from the plane.
“In no way were our actions on Southwest Airlines excessive, inappropriate or vulgar. We want to make it clear we were not making out or creating any kind of spectacle of ourselves, it was one, modest kiss,” Hailey said in a joint statement with partner Camila Grey.
“We are responsible adult women who walk through the world with dignity. We were simply being affectionate like any normal couple.”
Hailey and Grey, both musicians in the band Uh Huh Her, were forced off a Los Angeles-bound Monday flight in El Paso, Texas.
Southwest initially said on Monday the couple were removed after other passengers complained about their actions and a resulting discussion with a cabin attendant grew heated — and the decision was “based solely on behavior and not gender.”
On Tuesday, the airline said that further investigation revealed the pair used “profane language” and the “escalated conversation that developed on board the aircraft” led to them being escorted off the plane.
“Additional reports from our Employees and Customers on board flight 2274 during a stop in El Paso on Sunday now confirm profane language was being used loudly by two passengers,” Southwest said in a statement on its website.
“At least one family who was offended by the loud profanity moved to another area of the cabin. Although we have reports of what customers characterize as an excessive public display of affection, ultimately their aggressive reaction led to their removal from the aircraft.
“We do not tolerate discrimination against anyone for any reason. In this situation, their removal was directly and solely related to the escalated conversation that developed on board the aircraft.”
The airline also said it has offered a full refund to Hailey and Grey, who alleged in their statement that the company was homophobic.
“We take full responsibility for getting verbally upset with the flight attendant after being told it was a ‘family airline.’ We were never told the reason the flight attendant approached us, we were only scolded that we ‘needed to be aware that Southwest Airlines was a family oriented airline,'” Hailey and Grey said in their statement.
“No matter how quietly homophobia is whispered, it doesn’t make it any less loud. You can’t whisper hate.”
The plane incident sparked a flurry of comment on Twitter and the actress, who played bisexual journalist Alice Pieszecki on the Showtime drama about lesbians in Los Angeles, called for a boycott of the Dallas-based airline.
“Boycott @SouthwestAir if you are gay. They don’t like us,” she tweeted to her more than 20,000 followers.
Southwest’s website states it is the official airline of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.