United Airlines passenger claims he was told to change 'offensive' T-shirt or leave flight
A man says he was pulled off a United Airlines flight and told he’d need to change his ‘offensive’ t-shirt or he wouldn’t be able to fly.
Sam Saadeh, from New Jersey, was traveling from Atlanta to Newark Liberty International Airport last month.
However, shortly after boarding he was approached by a flight supervisor who told another staff member had found his t-shirt ‘offensive’.
Saadeh, who is of Palestinian descent, was wearing a black t-shirt that read: ‘Bombing kids is not self defense’.
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Speaking to CBS News New York, Saadeh said the t-shirt bore a message that was advocating for children who are caught in conflict.
He told the outlet he was left feeling ‘very confused’ after being approached by the member of flight staff.
"He was like, 'Hey, the flight attendant finds your shirt offensive,' and I was like, 'Why?'" Saadeh said.
"He goes, 'Here are the choices. Either you change your shirt or you can't get on this flight.'"
Saadeh said the interaction left him feeling ‘upset and humiliated’ but that he decided to change his t-shirt so that he could fly home.
He told NBC that he hoped to get some answers for why his top was singled out when he landed at Newark, but claims that wasn’t the case.
"She kept saying, like, 'You could see how the shirt is offensive.'
“I was like, 'I can't see how the shirt is offensive,'" Saadeh said.
"She was like, 'It's 2026.' I was like, 'I know what year it is.’”
He claimed to have then added: “‘Do you think kids shouldn't be bombed, or kids should be bombed? Like, what are you offended by?'"
In a statement to Fox News, United Airlines said: "This customer flew as scheduled after changing his shirt.
"That's all we'll have to share."
United’s rules state that the airline has the right to refuse transport on a temporary or permanent basis to passengers ‘whose clothing is lewd, obscene or offensive’.
However, the rules don’t share further specifications about what is considered ‘offensive’.
As well as contacting United Airlines, Saadeh told the outlet that he is now consulting with lawyers and has filed an official complaint with the United States Department of Transportation.
He has also said he will continue to wear the shirt. He added: "At the end of the day, this shirt, to me, is very clear that I think bombing kids is wrong ... regardless if you're Palestinian or if you're from Mobile, Alabama.”
A recent United Nations report claimed that more than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza by Israel since 7 October 2023.
The Israeli government has rejected the report and has denied deliberately targeting civilians.
In a Facebook post, Wear the Peace, the company which created the t-shirt said it had been designed as a ‘peaceful statement, not a threat’.
"The message does not encourage violence, threaten anyone, or suggest that the person wearing it intends to harm others," the organisation wrote.
LADbible has reached out to United Airlines for comment.
Claire Reid