Randi Zuckerberg lashed out at Alaska Airlines after a flight Wednesday during which, she says, a man made “repeated lewd, inappropriate, and offensive sexual remarks,” which were brushed aside by flight staff.
In an email to the airline’s top brass, the sister of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg described an “extremely uncomfortable situation” while traveling from Los Angeles, Calif. to Mazatlan, Mexico. A fellow first-class passenger allegedly began making sexually inappropriate and “horrifying” comments as soon as she climbed aboard, Randi Zuckerberg said.
“He started talking to me about touching himself, kept asking me if I fantasized about the female business colleague I was traveling with, rated and commented on the women’s bodies boarding the aircraft as they walked by us,” she wrote in her complaint, which was also posted on Facebook.
Feeling “furious, disgusted and degraded,” Zuckerberg said both she and her colleague notified Alaska Airlines’ flight attendants of the man’s actions. But their response — or lack thereof — only made the situation worse.
Staff told the pair that the man, who frequently flew the same Alaska Airlines route, had demonstrated similar “behavior in the past, but oh well, don’t take it personally, this guy just doesn’t have a filter.”
They then proceeded to stop by row 4 – where Zuckerberg, her colleague and the man were all seated – and “sweetly asked the passenger, ‘Are you behaving today?’ with a smile and giggle,” she wrote.
When pressed on the issue, flight attendants told Zuckerberg, who stressed that she was “extremely uncomfortable,” that she could move to a middle seat at the back of the flight.
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Zuckerberg debated switching her seat, until she realized, “Why should I have to move? I am the one that is being harassed! By a traveler who has a KNOWN history by these very flight attendants of being inappropriate and offensive in the past. All of this happened before the plane took off … why is it the woman that needs to switch seats in this situation? Shouldn’t he have been thrown off the plane?”
Alaska Airlines flight attendants continued serving the man “multiple alcoholic drinks” for the rest of the flight. In turn, he continued his alleged perverse diatribe.
“Ironically, one of those comments was about all the recent sexual harassment cases in the media and how ‘these Millenial women just aren’t willing to give some booty to get a job anymore,’” Zuckerberg wrote.
She expressed being “furious” at the man — a “complete stranger” who thought his behavior was “appropriate” — and even herself for “not causing more of a scene in the moment.”
Zuckerberg was also irate at Alaska Airlines’ staff for “knowingly and willingly providing this man with a platform to harass women. For knowing about his behavior and being more concerned with taking his money than for the safety and security of other passengers around him.”
The letter explicitly said Zuckerberg was going to write about her appalling experience on social media, and it went viral once posted on Facebook.
"We cannot support businesses that are complicit in allowing this behavior, and value the money of harassers over the comfort of their passengers," Zuckerberg wrote.
Some people thanked her for being brave enough to speak out and others offered their sympathy. One man called the incident “insane and just beyond the pale,” while another said she showed restraint because “a single photo or video of this aggressor would have quickly exposed him.”
Since then, two Alaska Airlines executives responded to Zuckerberg, informing her “that they are conducting an investigation and have temporarily suspended this passenger's travel privileges,” she wrote. “While it never should have happened in the first place, I am thankful that they are taking the situation seriously.”
A spokesperson for Alaska Airlines told NBC Bay Area that Zuckerberg’s encounter is “very disturbing.”
Bobbie Egan continued: “The safety and well-being of our guests is our number one priority. We’re fully investigating this situation and will take appropriate steps, as needed. We want our guests to feel safe. As a company, we have zero tolerance for any type of sexual misconduct that creates an unsafe environment for our guests and crew members.”
It’s unclear if or how the airline responded to the flight attendants who were criticized in Zuckerberg's letter.
