Outspoken rapper Azealia Banks launched a lengthy tirade on social media against Aer Lingus staff following an incident which saw her leave a flight from London to Dublin.
Banks (27), whose career has been plagued by controversy and conflicts with fellow artists, posted a series of videos on Instagram about the incident. In one of the expletive-laden videos she described Irish women as "ugly" and claimed she was treated like a "wild animal".
The troubled star is due to play a sold-out show at The Academy in Dublin on Tuesday night.
Sitting in Gatwick airport looking tearful and visibly distressed, she says: “So I don’t know what going to go down with this Dublin show, but... It’s like every time I come to the UK, there’s always like some f***ing sh*t with these airline people. Always just like starting sh*t with me.”
Banks goes on to outline her perspective on what happened: “I’m on this Aer Lingus flight, and I don’t know what the f**k is going on in the beginning. Matt packed my bags, he goes like deep in the plane, puts my bags up.
“And then the lady is like asking me some f**ing questions... Since I didn’t have an answer for her, she went like a couple of seats over and she was staring at me. And I’m like, ‘Girl don’t stare at me. I didn’t fill out your Aer Lingus work application form.”
In a later video posted by the rapper, she references a past incident on Delta Airlines in 2015, when Banks was videoed by a passenger calling a flight attendant a homophobic slur.
In the sequence of videos posted early this afternoon, the New York born performer alleges being treated “like a f**king wild animal” by security staff.
“They all just like crowd around me, and you know, they’re like chastising me like I’m some f**king animal, you know? Just like, ‘Oh we’re not going to have a problem here?’ And I’m just like, ‘What the f**k is going on, you know?”
“So I get off the plane because I’m just like, sh*t, you know. I’ve worked too hard in my life to be cornered by some ugly Irish b**ch... Like these f**king ugly Irish women here.”
Banks continues to describe the incident and her current state of mind, adding, “They tried their hardest to get me to say something or do something, or like freak out... and I’m just really like trying to calm down right now.”
She said that when staff “switched” on her and said she could never fly Aer Lingus, she decided to disembark the plane.
Earlier while still in the US she posted an image of the Academy venue with its “sold-out sign”. She also recorded herself and her entourage in high spirits, posing for her camera and discussing ordering “chardonel”, a high-quality wine.
An Aer Lingus spokesperson said: “Aer Lingus can confirm that two guests scheduled to fly on 10:55am flight from London Gatwick to Dublin (EI233) this morning disembarked themselves prior to departure.
“The guests in question got off the plane safely of their own accord, while all other guests remained on board. As they had luggage in the hold, the flight was delayed while that luggage was sourced.
“The flight departed Gatwick at 12:07 and landed in Dublin at 13:22. Aer Lingus has a strict no-tolerance policy towards disruptive guest behaviour.
“The safety and security of our guests and crew remains our first priority.”
In a later post, Banks reassured fans that she will make it to Dublin for Tuesday’s gig: “Are Ryan air [sic] and Aer Lingus the same thing? Trying to rebook my flight but I’m afraid it may be one of those shared code flights... I’m going to make it to Dublin. Do not worry.”
