Delta says that while the overall culture and corporations are moving away from DEI, they’re leaning in. And they’ve banned a comedian from the airline for life after he tweeted a photo of a Delta flight attendant’s pride pin (he quickly removed the flight attendant’s face from his post) and used vulgarity.
According to Delta’s ban letter,
During the flight, you took a photo of our flight attendant, who was wearing a pin permitted under Delta policies. You subsequently posted the photo on X, along with vulgar and hurtful language towards our flight attendant’s perceived sexual orientation. Delta is proud to employ 100,000 individuals from many backgrounds who serve all our customers and their communities.
In short, the post was disrespectful towards our flight attendant and contrary to Delta’s values and culture.
We have deemed your behavior to be unacceptable and made the decision to now allow you to fly Delta Air Lines. For the safety of our crew members and our customer, we cannot risk this type of behavior from you again.
Day 83 of being treated like a terrorist by@Delta – put on their NO FlY LIST for a tweet. The will not answer the phone or call me back. They claimed we needed to have an "IMPORTANT" conversation. My guess is a woke employee planned to shame me for not having the same views as… https://t.co/VTtRysc0gn
— Tyler Fischer (@TyTheFisch) October 29, 2024
Delta CEO Ed Bastian has advocated that any passenger banned from one airline should be banned from all airlines and placed on a terrorism list.
Delta takes significant subsidies from the federal government and from state governments. During the pandemic the federal government took an ownership stake in Delta (and other airlines). Banning passengers for offensive speech when not even flying seems problematic.
However, even if you think that this comedian should be banned from Delta – and banned for life – surely his tweet shouldn’t cause him to be banned by the federal government from all airlines forever?
Tyler Fischer was apparently once named “New York’s Funniest Comedian” and he doesn’t seem all that funny. But not being funny – or even offensive humor off the aircraft – seems a bit of a stretch for a ban to me.
Correction: I have seen Tyler Fischer live on tage and on Gutfeld. He is very funny and has the single best Trump impression of standup comedian.
Important: Delta is a quasi-monopoly and this is certainly a case of exercise of monopoly power to wresk someone’s livlihood. The FAA and Justice Dept. should address this right away and ban the practice.
The claim od a safety threat is wholely spurrious.
I can not applaud Delta enough!
Thanks Delta!
DEI is part of the progressive left’s secular religion and this comedian has been deemed guilty of blasphemy. This type of retaliation for speech has no place in a free society. Delta is enforcing their religion on their customers by permitting FAs to express their perceived righteous views (via rainbow pins) to their customers while punishing customers for expressing blasphemous contrary views (not even on the airplane!). Imagine an airline permitting FAs to wear MAGA hats then banning customers for writing a critical post on BlueSky about it. This can’t be how America works. We have to learn how to tolerate, engage with, and when necessary ignore viewpoints that we disagree with.
As much as I moved away from Delta, they got this 100% right. Don’t be a dick.
What ever happened to freedom of speech? Massive overreach by delta! Their business license need to be revoked immediately. Shut this airline down!
I support Delta rarely but onboard this time around
Delta is a bit too harsh. The guy is a jerk. To have a finite ban is possibly ok. Bastian should be banned from all airlines too (including Delta) for continuing his SkyPesos scheme.
Too add
I don’t support a ban on other airlines unless he threatened somebody or continues to behave poorly onboard
Excellent! The guy is a complete AH. Ban him from all airlines!
Employed as a FA. We already have problematic Passengers. We don’t need him on board anywhere He definitely might incite more of his kind
FAFO. Decided to take a photo of flight crew for cheap points, consequences arrived. Enjoy flying other airlines!
He should have tweeted a photo of Mr. Biden’s Nuclear codes fellah AKA as the football rifling thru women’s luggage bags at the Delta baggage claim….
Would DL terminate an employee for similar behavior? I doubt it. Suspend their travel forever? I doubt it.
@Gary,
The “comedian” even admits his original post on X (Twitter) clearly showed the flight attendant’s face. You may want to change your story so as not to be posting inaccurate info.
https://x.com/TyTheFisch/status/1849858207843541036
I haven’t seen his tweet, but unless it was something that isn’t protected speech (e.g. a “true threat” against the FA in question,) the federal government (or any government entity within the U.S.) can’t ban him from flying or take any other adverse action against him over this. That would be plainly unconstitutional.
On the other hand, if someone actually assaults, threatens, etc. a crew member or fellow passenger, then I’m all for banning them from every airline (and that would be completely legal.)
Just make him fly spirit and have 3 stops on every flight.
If Delta is going to allow employees to express opinions, then customers need to be afforded the same rights. As long as neither becomes abusive or endangers the flight – you can’t have it both ways. I’m not saying the guy isn’t a jerk, he most surely is. Just flip it around, if the FA wore a MAGA pin, should a non-MAGA passenger be banned?
Tyler Fisher. In other words
..who??? Ban him. Next time try confronting someone face to face tough guy.
In this case Delta has a right to ban him, although I think its a bad idea anyway. I have no problem if they contacted him about it though. To put him on a terorism no fly list is way too severve. If we had laws to support something like that, generally its a bad idea. This guy is a keyboard warrior. There are others screaming for attention. I also feel that as part of the uniform its best to keep all politics out of it. 100% so. In the world we live in right now, it presents too many possible issues and problems. The breast cancer awareness month I would see no issue. All other political statements should not be on the uniform. I know most airlines dont allow it. I can also say that if a customer comes on board wearing full MAGA gear, hat and hirt, that can cause some some definite issues. I am sure not sure that can be banned, but it can bring risk.
@Rich +1
@Gary – It’s pretty strange that you’re taking Delta to task for standing up to hate.
Delta is now my go to airline! Thank you Delta!
Good for Delta. I’m tired of people who are intolerant of others.
If you aren’t drinking the MAGA Kool Aid, they call you a
Leftist radical. But they feel they can say anything.
This actually does present a threat. He posted pictures of a Delta employee and put a spotlight on him in a way that can incite violence from a significant percentage of the population of this country. His post was a dog whistle for people that think violence is ok against people they don’t like.
Good on Delta, hate speech and potentially inciting violence are not protected freedoms.
Shame on Delta.
If Tim Dunn has a shred of LGBT pride (he’s a single ~60 year old gay without naming him, but single for reasons anyone can figure out given his personality), he’d say the same
As a gay person I do not agree with his point of view but as a gay person I do not think he should be singled out and prohibited from flying any airline. This is not hitlers rules. MAGA rules do fit apply to free speech nor can you force your own views onto someone else
Delta is acting like the Gestapo Tried hung and guilty
As a gay person I do not agree with his point of view but as a gay person I do not think he should be singled out and prohibited from flying any airline. This is not hitlers rules. MAGA rules do fit apply to free speech nor can you force your own views onto someone else
Delta is acting like the Gestapo Tried hung and guilty.
Man, this cancel culture routine acceptance is scary to see here.
Not going into the details of the tweet or ban too much myself but In hindsight and out of pure curiosity to see who’s consistent vs a flat out hypocrite , I’d love to read the comments side by side over the recent debate re: the FA’s Palestinian Flag lapel pin that got the ADL all worked up
It was a very graphic, insulting, vulgar tweet. Tyler ended it saying he didn’t want to fly with FAs who do those things, and it was time for him to find another airline. Delta gave the punk what he said he wanted.
Gary conveniently ignored the content of the post, which was explicitly sexual and demeaning about one of their employees and identified that person. It’s surprising since he usually rushes to publish such details, but other blogs have reported it.
Banning him from their business was clearly the right thing to do.
Spare me the ‘cancel culture’ bit. This has nothing to do with politics.
Freedom of Speech applies to the public sphere (but who knows for how much longer), not to the inside of a private company’s property.
Not a good look for Gary trying to defend a person who doxed an employee for wearing a pin he disagrees with.
Of course, it doesn’t help that the guy made some terrible comments too.
Whose side are you on Gary? The side that likes to hate certain minorities?
Of course everyone’s hair is on fire over this. But regardless of whether you’re an ally of gay people, or a bigot (or some other category, if there is one) Delta had no choice whatsoever in this. Obviously terrorism watch lists are not relevant to this story, that’s just Gary working on “engagement”. But banning the guy from Delta was the right move, because doing less would deeply peeve the one or two (maybe 3?) gay employees at the airline. And all the attention the guy is getting is good for Delta. Employee morale is worth paying this price for.
A company can fire customers they don’t like, and some employers value their employees more than they value an obnoxious customer. At least in this case, before the company fired the customer there was documented evidence that the customer was being hostile toward the company’s employee on the basis of legally protected group identity.
Bravo Delta. Make him fly Spirit where he belongs.
Ahh, late to the party.
First, let people love who they love, and live how they live, so long as it doesn’t literally harm others. And remember to treat others as you want to be treated. The golden rule is a cornerstone of nearly every religion.
Did none of you grow up listening to shock jock radio or watching reality television? It’s the ‘attention’ economy. Folks will be as offensive as possible. I’m not fan, personally. And there very much is a ‘line’ depending on current culture, which is always changing.
I’m with those who still support the US Constitution, including the 1st Amendment, preventing *government* from censoring our reasonable speech, even if I personally detest the content. However, Delta is not the government, they’re a private entity, even if they are a publicly traded corporation, and it can decide not to do business with specific customers for reasonable justification as here, not explicit animus on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, etc. Also, free speech is not the guarantee to be heard or to be agreed with, and in many cases others’ reactions to your speech may offend you, too, clearly as here.
This isn’t hard, but some just love to hate and to pile-on against their perceived enemies. I wish we had better examples and leadership at the top. Alas, it is undeniable ‘that guy’ motivates much of this, sadly. We know better, and we deserve so much better.
@GUWonder — I’m with you. That’s a balanced, nuanced, and ‘based’ take as the kids would say these days.
@JohnnyBoy – This guy gets it, too.
@Too Many – Gary doesn’t have to pick a side; he can post what happened, then you get to decide for yourself.
@Doug — To the uninitiated, what you’re saying may ‘sound’ good (in closing, you ‘advocate’ for tolerance), but there is also the ‘paradox of tolerance,’ in which the hateful pretend the decent are being intolerant by calling out their hate. Your initial description of ‘the left’ shows your true colors—I suspect you would readily discriminate against your perceived opponents in the ‘culture war’. Prove me wrong.
@Tim Avila — Folks like you are just partisan. If it was the other side being harmed you’d celebrate their ‘tears.’ I believe your side also likes to say something about ‘your feelings.’ It’s cheap and silly.
@Dillion — That’s too extreme, and a blatant false equivalence to one of the most murderous regimes in history.
@Julie — Stop picking on Tim. He’s a good, decent man who loves Delta very much. I like him and Delta, too.
@ Gary — Airlines must stand up to the hate spewing from the current administration. Otherwise, when American tanks are turned on its own people and other countries stop welcoming Americans, their businesses will face a crisis.
Comedy is rooted in truth. That’s what makes it funny.. whatever it is he posted, was biased, homophobic and judgemental.
Banned for life?
Maybe the guy will learn that humor and truth telling can be funny, and not at the expense of other individuals or a blanket insult to a whole subset of people.
I applaud Delta’s decision.
@ JohnnyBoy
sure, thing Strawman. Gary’s post was clearly political. Just because you don’t want to talk about politics that may or may not suit (likely your stance since you’re trying to stiffen it) doesn’t give you some pedestal to stand on re: where political speech is allowed.
the Pin is clearly a political icon which is at the core of the discussion here.
so spare me the high horse BS. my comments were on the rush to judge and literally agree to ban someone (and a terrorist no fly list?!?) because that person went against someone’s views.
now, that’s where WE as a populace have to step in with fairness vs tyranny.
i wanted to avoid even commenting on the topic because of the political partisan baiting nature of it.
but may as well in attempt to have my initial curiosity around consistency in comments on different topics being actually heard…
i think the dude who tweeted out got what he deserved. F-around, Find out. Delta has a right to refuse service.
Had he blurred out the faces before initially posting the tweet, i’d like to think he’d have a better case. since he didn’t, the damage had been done and it seems justified for Delta to defend their business and employees.
Asking for a complete no-fly list is a repulsive abuse of power (and should lose their government subsidies completely for this). Seeing many people support this is terrifying.
What if that happened to any of us? Still onboard? that’s a tough pill to swallow
Either companies can decide who they can serve or they cannot. That was settled in the 1960s. They cannot.
Remember that Delta’s biggest hub is in Georgia which is rather red, and they have a large presence in the South. They are merely minimizing their liability by banning this guy. Last thing they need is one of their many homohobic Southern red state customers picking up on this and doing something malicious to this FA, who was just doing their job and wearing some flair that was permitted by the Company.
While at first glance, a lifetime ban appears harsh, and one would think the message could have been sent with perhaps a one year ban, we have to keep in mind we’re not dealing with logical, rational, educated people here. As our most recent election shows, many subjects we thought were settled are not in the eyes of many red state fanatics, so rather than assuming he can reflect and behave appropriately, Delta knows that someone in this demographic may not be able to recognize the error of their ways, and it’s best to part ways. I trust a Southern company like Delta to understand how their Southern customer base, how they may act, and take appropriate action to protect their employee and the company’s liabilty.
As much as I’m not a DL fan given thier cronyism…..
DL is allowed to do business with anyone they wish. This tweet and identifying information about the employee was not acceptable per DLs 1st amendment right too. Flying is a privledge not a right, if you are going to be a jerk…..DL should have the right to not take his business.
The comedian is allowed to criticize. And he has….
In terms of other carriers making a choice to ban this guy…..I think they are certainly allowed to not do business with him too given the information out there. It’s also thier right to do business with who they want to.
Now if there is a rush to ban too many across the industry Then there will be political and financial push back….so it’s a delicate balance. And they shouldn’t deny them based on protected classes. (If you are unvaccinated you should not be banned to travel *cough* Canada)
It’s about time someone calls out this dog whistle garbage for what it is. Nothing but bad faith from this crowd. What’s that trope about personal responsibility for the bad choices you made now, snowflake?
@Uncle Jeff — Ugh, here you go again. Tom is spelled T-O-M, not J-E-F-F. As with your earlier comments on other posts at VFTW, you are misguided, at best.
On this post, more accurately, please note that Delta’s headquarters is Atlanta, which is a blue stronghold in a red state. Further, Delta has a practical monopoly in Atlanta, so they can offend nearly whoever they want and still get by just fine. Whether that’s a good thing or not depends on who you ask. However, I am not a fan of monopolies, regulatory capture, or any anti-competitive practices because I am for consumers, for small businesses, and a fan of personal freedoms, even if I personally find this comedian’s detestable.
The irony ! A jerk tries to get a gay employee fired but gets banned himself. Sooo sweet.
So… The post that this “supposed” comedian showed… The one that “got him banned”, was actually a lie.
“This is it”, he says in a post that accompanied this article.
Well, again, that was a lie.
The original post did not have a black box with text across it. Instead, he posted the flight attendant’s face.
It was a direct threat against the flight attendant (by posting the individual ‘s face) and this “comedian” got exactly what he deserved.
And while he may whine about his free speech, nobody is stopping him from saying anything (including whining about other individuals’ speech, which they have every right to say).
What he doesn’t have a right to do is to put other people in harm’s way and Delta has every right to protect their employees.
So, “No flights for you!” is perfectly acceptable. Now, continue your whining, funny man. Oh, and I hope the flight attendant takes legal action against you.
@Key West — I read ‘no flights for you!’ in the tone of ‘no soup for you!’ and I believe that was your intention. I miss that show. Wish it had continued.