Uh Huh Her Kicked Off Flight

Hailey, who starred on the Showtime series “The L Word” as Alice Pieszecki, chronicled the incident on her Twitter account, in addition to tweets sent out by the electropop band’s official Twitter account. The flight was traveling from El Paso, Texas, to Los Angeles.

“I have been discriminated against by @SouthwestAir. [Flight] attendant said that it was a ‘family’ airline and kissing was not ok,” Hailey wrote. “We were escorted off the plane for getting upset about the issue. @SouthwestAir endorses homophobic employees. … Since when is showing affection towards someone you love illegal? I want to know what Southwest Airlines considers as ‘family.’”

The musician/actress added that she had audio and video recording of the band’s interaction with the flight attendant. Tweets from Hailey and Uh Huh Her’s official account, which described the kiss as a “small peck on the lips,” encouraged fans to boycott the airline.

Ironically, Southwest is the official airline for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the Gay-Straight Alliance Network (GSA), and the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC).

Southwest Airlines released a statement about the incident Monday:

“Initial reports indicate that we received several passenger complaints characterizing the behavior as excessive. Our crew, responsible for the comfort of all customers on board, approached the passengers based solely on behavior and not gender.

“The conversation escalated to a level that was better resolved on the ground, as opposed to in flight. We regret any circumstance where a passenger does not have a positive experience on Southwest and we are ready to work directly with the passengers involved to offer our heartfelt apologies for falling short of their expectation.”

Uh Huh Her released its own statement Tuesday, noting that Grey and Hailey were in the process of filing a formal complaint against Southwest Airlines.

“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.

“We are responsible adult women who walk through the world with dignity. We were simply being affectionate like any normal couple. We were on the airplane less than 5 minutes when all was said and done. 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.’ No matter how quietly homophobia is whispered, it doesn’t make it any less loud. You can’t whisper hate.”

Earlier this month Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong tweeted about his own issue with a Southwest Airline flight. The singer claimed he was kicked off a flight because his “pants sagged too low.” Filmmaker Kevin Smith was asked to leave a Southwest Airlines flight in early 2010 after the airline determined he was too large to fit in a single seat.

Click here to read Uh Huh Her’s full statement.