Former Miss Universe Trolls American Airlines After They Made Her ‘Cover Up’ To Fly

Last week former Miss Universe and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model Olivia Culpo was asked to cover up in order to be allowed to fly American Airlines to Cabo. Olivia was called up to the counter at the gate and told she needed to “put on a blouse” over her sports bra or she wouldn’t be allowed to fly.

She covered up, and her sister continued to film for Instagram, including showing Culpo’s boyfriend Carolina Panthers Christian McCaffrey maskless in first class.

Now she’s trolling American Airlines on Instagram, with photos in what purports to be a dress that covers even less of her while writing, “Please use caution while using the overheard bins as items may have shifted during flight.”

American’s policy says “Dress appropriately; bare feet or offensive clothing aren’t allowed.” They want a policy so they can enforce it in egregious cases, but it’s more or less left to the discretion of frontline employees to figure out what it means.

The funny thing is that my guess is American’s ambiguous policy – similar to that of other airlines – should have been interpreted to allow Ms. Culpo to fly but that her twitter outfit would run afoul of these same rules in a Potter Stewart “you know it when you see it” sort of way.

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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  1. As she is good enough for Instagram and Facebook, she should be good enough for American Airlines. Although not necessarily approved by the global air traffic control community, she is appropriately dressed for the runway. 🙂

  2. Amazing how it is popular to be a whore with the good old worthless millennial generation. I suppose this will trigger a whole air-slut movement so the professional victims can get themselves thrown off flights and shout with ignorant indignation about they are being discriminated against.

  3. Good for AA, I am not a prude but I don’t want to sit next to some half naked person on my flight.

  4. Please shut up! With everyone trying to survive these days, why do some people continue to be focused on their outer bodies? We all have a body but most of us have dignity! They better be worrying about their inside body health. Cause she ain’t gonna look like that in 20!years!! Damn, why don’t you just put a sign in your back that says. Will somebody F—k me please?

  5. The comments here are appallingly misogynistic, but not at all surprising considering the overwhelmingly misanthropic nature of this subculture.

  6. Normally, I’d agree with Sunviking82 and let it lie but JasonD had to start with his college professor act and all of his long let me show the world how intelligent I am words without any logical conclusion statement attached.

    In the end civil society (and don’t tell me that you don’t know what that is) has requirements and they include limits on speech, actions and dress among others. These are often decided upon by the reasonable person standard. I do agree that times have changed and those same rules once resulted in most men flying in a suit only and never thinking to dress down. I’m sure she would have no problem traveling with either outfit…the one she posted or the one she was wearing ….despite the cold air blowing from the overhead….but when 200 people are in a metal tube together for several hours we must all adopt some common decency so that little Johnny doesn’t have to ask his dad why mom doesn’t look like the lady in 3B. I’ll also point out that if a man dressed the same way would be called out then ….I mean honestly sometimes the yoga pants and short short are tolerated on women but I can only imagine what would happen if some guy decided to board a plane dressed for his cycling workout. For the same reason I’d change before my flight, women need to do the same….in a civil society.

  7. Can’t Miss Universe and Christian McCaffrey afford to fly private? Then she’s dressed appropriately, and they can just f–k right on the plane. Problem solved.

  8. I’m certainly no prude (as my internet search history would reveal), but she looks like she was flying in her damn underwear.

  9. Is there anything dumber than a woman who is so insecure that she has to run around an airport wearing a bra??? But, she did a lot of attention, and that’s probably what she wants. So sad.

  10. Maybe because I live in Miami I have a different perspective. That is normal clothing for here and is seen on the streets every day.
    She was flying to Cabo where again that is what people wear while there, plus they let other people on wearing similar outfits.
    I see this as a case of an airline person overstepping because they have to power to do it.

  11. Following the old rule – there is no such thing as bad publicity, just spell my name right.

    FWIW, looking at old pictures, those babies are bolted on. And she looks like she needs a sandwich.

  12. How many of the people who think she should cover up are also apposed to masks mandates?

    big pearl clutching energy in the comments

  13. While this kind of attire has become fairly common, it is still inappropriate in any public situation. It’s basically underwear and the only reason for dressing like this is to show off and attract attention, then complain about the attention you get.

  14. @JerryTravel – Here’s a different way to think about it – yes, it’s common on the streets of Miami, but there are also a lot of restaurants in Miami where you wouldn’t be allowed in dressed like that, even if you are a “celebrity”. She’s dressed for the gym or the beach. No one would blink an eye at a restaurant having a dress code, even in Miami. There are plenty of places that say “No Swimwear”, even on South Beach.

  15. I beg to differ, she is wearing more clothes than many people in the restaurants, and I won’t even mention the clubs. Crop tops are very in style and many people are showing off their abs, and on skirts or shorts it is the shorter the better

  16. This post calls her top a sports bra. I don’t think it’s outrageous to ask that a bra (generally considered to be an under-garment) be covered up. But I will also say that I have seen so many different follow-up stories on this that I wonder if the whole thing wasn’t a setup by Miss Universe in the first place. Had anyone ever even heard of her before she suffered this terrible injustice? I hadn’t.

  17. Gary’s comment section: I swear we aren’t just a bunch of awkward old toxic scared boomers who hate women, liberals and minorities.

    Also Gary’s comment section: A WOMAN WORE A SPORTS BRA? HALF OF US NEED TO CALL HER A SKANK OR A WHORE NOW.

    Seek help guys. Therapy will make you better.

  18. I’m not going to comment on some of the crude comments left here…but please folks you can voice your displeasure a little more “adult-like”.

    However, I understand why some of us get upset with this attitude. Quick story: I’m at the pool at The Borgata on the hottest Saturday afternoon in mid-July. I went down and grabbed my chairs at 10:00 AM.

    By noon there wasn’t a chair to be had (very typical as Saturday is by far the most popular day/night in AC). At about 2:30 PM, two mid-20’s young ladies show up and literally start pitching a holy fit over the fact that there were no lounge chairs for them. Dropping F bombs and demanding to speak to “someone in charge…immediately”. Pool Manager came…explained the situation and even asked – carefully – if they were a M Rewards member, had a casino host, etc. Needless to say, they had no idea what he was talking about.

    The sense of entitlement was mind-boggling.

  19. WarrenB, what you are writing is not the case here. She went and put on a sweatshirt and did not complain to any staff member, also if I am paying for a hotel room at a resort why shouldn’t I expect a seat by the pool. Why should the hotel set my schedule and tell me a paying guest what time I have to be someplace.

  20. @JerryTravel:

    The point is the sense of entitlement is unbelievable. I see the exact same “Look at me…I’m right and the rules don’t apply” sense of it in the video.

    Also, since when does any hotel owe you a seat at the pool? Aside from seats and cabanas set aside for elite members (very typical at a casino resort)…it’s always first-come, first-served. Tell me where when you book a room it says “guaranteed seat at the pool”???

  21. @WarrenB,

    If I am a paying guest at a resort hotel that centers around the pool why should I not be guaranteed a seat at the pool? If you buy tickets for a movie should you be guaranteed a seat?
    By the way I do agree that many people today feel entitled to things that they do not always pay for.

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