Lil Pump may be traveling with some tighter flight restrictions in 2021.
On Monday (Dec. 28), TMZ reported that Lil Pump has been banned from JetBlue AirWays for temporarily refusing to abide by COVID-19 safety protocols while aboard one of their planes. According to a representative at JetBlue, the rapper refused to wear a mask and was verbally abusive to crew members this past Sunday.
The rapper's purported issues with JetBlue reportedly began after he refused to wear his mask during the trip from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. to Los Angeles. At some point, someone on the plane asked Pump to wear the mask, Pump refused and later began sneezing and coughing into a blanket, which TMZ notes could have been purposeful.
The 20-year-old rapper eventually complied with the airline, but the damage had apparently already been done.
JetBlue reportedly called LAX Airport Police to be on standby. However, the "Esskeetit" rapper does not appear to have been arrested. LAX Airport Police also told TMZ that no arrest or incident involving the rapper was recorded.
In a statement to XXL, JetBlue confirms that one particular passenger was "no longer welcome" on JetBlue planes after being verbally abusive and refusing to comply with their policy. They don't confirm the name, but the story sounds familiar.
"On Dec. 27, a customer flying from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles became verbally abusive with crew members after being asked multiple times and refusing to comply with JetBlue’s face covering policy," says the rep. "Law enforcement was asked to meet the flight to assist our crew members in notifying the customer his return reservation was canceled and he is no longer welcome to fly on JetBlue."
The rep continues: "The safety of all customers and crew members is JetBlue’s first priority. Our policy requires all customers 2 years [old] and older wear a face covering throughout their journey. "
Some time after getting off the flight, Pump called out JetBlue in an Instagram story. In the since-deleted clip, Pump explained how he would no longer be wearing masks because he thinks the Coronavirus is fake.
"Fuck JetBlue, fuck everybody that work in there, nigga," Lil Pump began. "Y'all bitches some bums. All 2020-21, I ain't wearing no mask, I ain't gotta wear no fucking mask bitch, Corona's fake. Bye."
To hear that Pump, who aligned himself with President Trump during the 2020 Presidential Election this past fall, would mostly ignore orders to wear a mask on a plane isn't all that surprising. Since bursting onto the scene, he's been going against the grain with shocking announcements pretty much every other month, so this would be no different.
XXL has reached out to Lil Pump's team for comment on the matter.
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