American Airlines Fires Legal Team Over Blaming Young Girl for Bathroom Incident

American Airlines faced a lawsuit from three Black men who said they were removed from a flight due to discrimination. The men were taken off the plane after a complaint about body odor, even though no one had actually accused them of smelling bad. The airline employee mentioned that the complaint came from a white flight attendant. The men recorded an employee agreeing that the situation was discriminatory. American Airlines stated they take discrimination claims seriously and want customers to have a positive experience. American Airlines changed their legal team after their lawyers suggested a 9-year-old girl should have known she was being filmed in the airplane bathroom by a flight attendant. The airline retracted the statement blaming the girl for her injuries and apologized, saying they do not believe the child is at fault. The girl's family welcomed the change in legal representation and hoped for accountability from American Airlines. The lawsuit against American Airlines was filed by the family of a girl who was allegedly filmed by a flight attendant. The flight attendant, Estes Carter Thompson III, was arrested for recording minors in the bathroom. Thompson pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted sexual exploitation of children and possession of child pornography. American Airlines faced backlash for blaming the young girl for the incident and changed their legal representation in response to public outrage. The lawsuit claimed that Thompson took images of the girl in the airplane bathroom in January 2023. The FBI found images of the girl's face, buttocks, and genitals on Thompson's iCloud. The FBI discovered other victims, including the 9-year-old girl, after searching Thompson's devices and iCloud. Thompson was arrested after a 14-year-old girl reported the camera in the plane's bathroom.