Row over 'faggot' routine

Delta Airlines is editing a Chris Rock comedy special on its in-flight entertainment systems after a passenger complained about the comedian’s use of the word ‘faggot’.The show is to be cut after Jeremy Foreshew, who works for gay dating app Grindr, kicked up a fuss about a routine in which Rock defends some uses of the slur, saying: It’s not the word, it’s the context in which the word is said.’Foreshew complained to staff on his New York to Los Angeles flight, and later told GayTravel.com: ‘I couldn’t believe this was something happening in 2016. When you think of the number of people who fly Delta every day and have access to that language… it just shocked me.’

Now the airline has apologised and says it will be pulling the offending material from all its flights. Although in its statement, the company said without irony that it ‘proudly embraced… diverse thinking.’It said: ‘The Chris Rock: Kill the Messenger segment should not have been uploaded on flights based on our criteria for excluding onboard programming that includes content featuring explicit language, slurs, extreme violence, and explicit scenes.‘We apologise to any customers who were offended by the content or our airing of the segment, and we are working as quickly as possible to remove it from our aircraft. Our commitment to inclusion and respect of all customers is rooted in Delta’s values and culture, and we proudly embrace diverse people, thinking and styles.’

Here is some of that offending routine.

Published: 28 Aug 2016