Delta Flight Attendant Forces Grammy Nominated Singer To Sit Down, Shut Up In Order To Fly

Grammy-nominated gospel singer Bobbi Storm tried to sing for the plane. A Delta crewmember threated to kick her off if she wouldn’t sit down and shut up. She took to social media to complain about the incident, says Delta reached out to apologize. But they should apologize to the rest of the passengers… and the crewmember who was doing the right thing, that they aren’t standing behind.

She declared she “sing[s] for the Lord” and therefore, apparently, isn’t subject to the laws of man.. or Delta Air Lines when asked by the airline to “be quiet.” Her response? “I’m doing what the Lord is telling me to do.”

The flight attendant made clear to her that if she’s not going to be able to follow instructions, she’s not going to be able to fly. Even if she doesn’t have to follow all instructions, a concern that she’s going to be disruptive and not follow instructions could lead to concerns she’ll be a threat to safety later in the flight – and refused carriage. Storm appears to comply but when the flight attendant walks off she says she is going to keep “sing[ing] it on the low.”

She got up in the aisle and started singing. She may be talented, but people want to rest, to work, to pay attention to entertainment more to their liking. People are stuck in a metal tube. It’s bad enough when they’re subjected to credit card announcements they can’t simple ignore. This is worse.

Claiming that the seat belt sign is off so she can sing in the aisles is absurd. She may be allowed out of her seat to go to the lavatory, but the “please don’t sing at the whole cabin” light wasn’t turned off.

The right way to do this is to ask the crew whether they’d mind if she sang to everyone? And then the crew might look around the cabin to see whether it’s situationally appropriate. But don’t have the hubris to impose yourself on everyone else when they can’t opt out.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. She can utilize social media just like anyone else. Get on the plane, sit down, shut up, because not everyone cares about you, what you stand for, what you’re doing in your personal or professional life. You can’t make the plane your platform or audience just because you feel like it.

  2. I’m not Christian. I don’t want to hear Christian music. People should just sit down and mind their own business on a plane.

  3. Another crazed narcissist. Thank God I have noise canceling headphones so i wouldn’t be subject to this a-hole.

  4. Delta is right. She is a GOSPEL SINGER. Not everyone wants to hear or believes in HER GOSPEL. Forcing others in a confined space to be subject to her GOOD NEWS and PREACHING is wrong.

    Would you want Jehovah Witness to jump up on the plane and give their message? Mormons? How about radical Muslims?

    Passengers that are using planes as a forum to entertain a captive audience are wrong no matter your talents or beliefs

  5. I don’t mind someone with a voice as good as hers is singing. It certainly beats flight attendants coming around trying to get you to sign up for a credit card.

  6. @jns When was the last time an FA actually had a conversation with you about signing up for a credit card? At most there’s a very, VERY brief announcement with maybe an FA walking down the isle…again, NOT asking anyone.

    Stop reaching.

  7. The flight attendant should get a reward. He handled this mess very well. If she wants to sing, she can sing on the street where people can run away. In an aircraft, she has a captive audience. She is a self absorbed Karen who simply needs to go away..

  8. Good. Fsck that entitled attention seeking b!tch.

    Retired Gambler – GFYS. Jns, you too. It’s a plane not a damn stage.

  9. I’m puzzled as to the exact “rule” being broken here. Is there an actual rule against noise? I, too, have sat near someone running audio along with their video. I too hated it. But what if John Legend or Taylor Swift were on board and burst out in song? Guess I’m wondering if these arguments are about content, rather than process. I there a defined rule to enforce here? I’m anti- the Irish musicians, but it doesn’t seem fair to pick and choose rules based on song content, and not just song.

  10. If she was on American or United, she would have broken ribs and still be laying on the tarmac.
    It is clear that Delta trains its people in de-escalation.
    Inside an airplane or elevator is not the place for anyone to do anything more than talking to the person next to you.
    There is no shortage of narcissistic behavior in humanity with people of all religions. There are also people of all religions that understand social norms.

  11. @cr I think most reasonable people would find it to be a disturbance. The FA makes that judgment call. And Taylor Swift doesn’t fly commercial, so this is not happening.

  12. The issue is that it’s religious singing. How eould it go down if someone is dinging Prsise Allah?

  13. @Tim Dunn “it is clear”…from a sample size of one. You’re a data champion, why are you stating unverifiable opinion, presumably from bias, as though it is an inarguable fact? If it had been, in fact, a different airline, would you have made the same comment?

    Just trying to hold you to your own stated standards.

  14. the video itself shows it and even one of the other sites recognizes it.
    to be fair, Delta AND Southwest know how to de-escalate while a couple of airlines, AA and UA included, have a knack for turning everything into front page power struggle headlines.

  15. It would have been perfect if someone else had started belting out “Respect” by Aretha Franklin.

  16. Another Grammy winner is the band Slayer. I wouldn’t want them to burst out in song on my flight either.

  17. I would love to hear some great live music on a plane, or subway, or wherever. But “great” is a matter of taste–and faith. Why do Christians, uniquely, believe they are above the law? Imagine a Hindu or Muslim singer trying to monopolize the aisle.

  18. Glad my airpods have improved noise cancellation.

    Now if it was Taylor Swift that might be different, but I don’t think she flies Delta

  19. I’m glad they did. The last thing I need is someone singing on a plane – even if I like a particular style of Music I’d much rather fly in peace.

  20. A similar situation happened to me a couple of times as well. I am a male porn star from East-Germany. Whenever I am trying to entertain my fellow travelers on the plane with a small show of my skills, the crew does not seem to be happy about it

  21. @Gary, keep your eye on this. Apparently her followers are trying to get the FA fired or reprimanded.

  22. Bitch gives her whole Grammy acceptance speech on the plane and provides links to all her socials. Time and place. Check yourself.

  23. 49 U.S. Code § 46504, the federal charge of interfering with a flight crew occurs if a person on an aircraft in flight assaults or intimidates any member of the flight’s crew, including pilots and flight attendants. This includes interfering with or preventing the ability of the crew member to perform their job in any way. The aircraft is considered by law to be in flight once all external doors are closed and until one external door is opened. The key point is that the plane does not have to be in the air for an offense to occur. It’s important to point out that the offense doesn’t have to include a physical assault or threat of assault to affect a crew. Can you ignore a flight attendant’s instruct-ions? Not even a little bit. Disobeying the instructions of a crew member brings the potential risk of violating federal law. If you’re asked to move your chair into the upright position and ignore the attendant, you could be arrested by officials when the flight lands. Most of the incidents that end up in an arrest, however, involve a passenger arguing, repeatedly ignoring, or disobeying a crew member or act out in a way that is dangerous for crew or passengers. The safest thing to do is comply and, if one feels that the order/request was unjust, then file a formal complaint with the proper authority. Now, there will be some “Karen/Ken” that will toss out some drivel to argue with me but this is the way the law reads…not my opinion!

  24. @Mets Fan in NC:

    -While I certainly agree with the crux of your comment, why did you have to add “How about radical Muslims?”? Why not just “Muslims” or why not “radical Morons” or “radical Jehovah Witness”?

    It seems you have some sort of bias towards Muslims.

    @cr:

    ” But what if John Legend or Taylor Swift were on board and burst out in song?”

    -They shouldn’t be allowed either.

    @Andrew:

    “Another Grammy winner is the band Slayer. I wouldn’t want them to burst out in song on my flight either.”

    -I’ll take that..LOL. Actually, as a fan of Slayer, I wouldn’t want Tom Araya (vocalist) to sing any Slayer songs either. Also, Slayer have retired/disbanded.

    @Alan Young:

    Exactly!

    @Win Whitmire:

    Thanks for the update on the law!

  25. @Jacobin777
    You don’t have a bias? How stupid are you? What is the only religion that demands everyone convert or die? What is the only religion that advocates for the destruction of another race of people? The rest of the world stopped this animalistic behavior hundreds of years ago, it’s only Muslims now that are the backwards death cult. The Muslim world has earned their reputation, don’t blame people for seeing them for what they are.

    So yes, if some radical Muslim, or just a regular Muslim, got up on a plane and started preaching, not only would I disagree, but I would also tackle and restrain them, as they are likely trying to kill everyone on board

  26. @Mantis:

    “How stupid are you?”

    -OBVIOUSLY not stupid like you.

    Time for you to turn off Fox News and get an education.

  27. Bunch of sad haters in the comments. Great voice and a fun surprise on a flight. Just enjoy the moment–it’s not like she’s singing the whole flight!

  28. @Paul,

    Again, the point is she’s forcing her religious views onto others. What if someone started doing Hindu chants or saying “prayers” from works published by Anton Lavey?

    She showed lack of respect to others..full stop.

  29. @Mantis – Wow! I’m sorry for anyone that has to interact with you on a regular basis. I’m a Muslim and we certainly don’t believe in killing people that don’t want to convert. We don’t even try to get anyone to convert. We also don’t believe in ethnic cleansing. Learn the difference between Quran and Hadith. Not everyone in a religion believes the same things. You are cherry picking propaganda and making it a belief. Islam is not a death cult and it’s sad to see the ignorance of people that will judge someone for their religious beliefs. Why don’t you get to know some actual Muslims and see how twisted and hateful your perception is?

    Also to the writer: why make the thumbnail art a much darker woman with big, curly hair when this singer was lighter and had very short bleached blonde hair? Why the change in her appearance for the article?

    As for the singer, I think she’s rude and attention-seeking.

  30. It’s not her church or her concert, she should sit down and shut up like everybody else. Additionally, as a “Christian Gospel singer“, there’s a statistical 88% probability of being anti-Semitic, and probably anti – every other religion on the planet, another reason many people don’t want to be forced to listen to her.

  31. Paramedic – BS. Your ‘religion of peace’ literally calls for killing infidels in the Koran.

    You are the problem.

  32. @Walter

    The Bible talks about killing of others (such as homosexuals, unmarried couples, etc. – Book of Deuteronomy ). I guess one could say the same about Christianity as well then. Oh wait, that’s taken out of context when its spoken about non-Islamic religions.

    The Quran specifically states there is “no compulsion in religion” so I fail to see how one calls for killing of infidels.

    Small-minded people with small-minded thoughts.

  33. The ego of some people. If I was on the flight I would have asked the Flight attendant to stop it too. Have no desire to listen to someone spew forth gospel. Very inconsiderate of her to assume the entire plane wanted to hear her. Glad the flight attendant put an end to this type of intrusive and inconsiderate behavior.

  34. Jacobin – I didn’t say the bible didn’t. Especially in the Old Testament if you want to be specific. But the korans sura’s are cumulative with later ones overruling earlier ones. So yea, it calls for the death of infidels, and paramedic is a liar. So, take your tiny little mind and shove it. You don’t know what you’re talking about.

  35. I mean the ’70’s AA coach class piano bar didn’t have guests singing either, just piano playing. At least in the TV commercial. DL is so cheap that guests have to provide their own social entertainment. Domestic airlinrs aren’t even demanding tiktok revenue sharing from their silly passengers. So, I’m undecided on this.

  36. I’d probably enjoy it in the right setting. But not on a plane. Definitely not everyone wants to hear. Just like when Southwest happily encourages singing, game playing, and all their usual “let’s all be friends y’all…” type of party they want to throw on planes. No place for this on a plane.

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