Another American story, this time from the Daily Telegraph which reports on a woman who was thrown off an American airliner… for wearing a T-shirt.

Lorrie Heasley, 32, boarded a Southwest Airlines flight in Los Angeles wearing a T-shirt with a design including the images of President George W Bush, Dick Cheney, the Vice President, and Condoleezza Rice, the Secretary of State, above an obscene variation on the title of the hit comedy film Meet the Fockers.

When the plane made a scheduled stop in Reno, Nevada, passengers joining the flight complained to cabin crew. Ms Heasley, who was accompanied by her husband Ron, was asked to wear her top inside out, but she refused and was ejected.

‘’I just thought it was hilarious,” said Ms Heasley yesterday. “I have cousins in Iraq and other relatives going to war.

“Here we are trying to free another country, and I have to get off an airplane. . . over a T-shirt. That’s not freedom.”

According to Marilee McInnis, of Southwest Airlines, the airline’s rules do allow them to deny boarding to anyone whose clothing was “lewd, obscene or patently offensive”. Which would be fair enough if it wasn’t for the fact that when Ms Heasley boarded the plane, no-one complained.

Ms Heasley, who was flying home from Disneyland, ended up defending herself by phone to a combative television presenter from Fox News.

“He told me I was selfish, I didn’t respect people, I was stupid and I didn’t like children,” Ms Heasley said. “All I did was wear a T-shirt.”

Sounds like the Fox News presenter doesn’t get out much.

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