Maggie McMuffin was in the middle of boarding a JetBlue flight when an airline employee told her that her outfit was not appropriate for the airplane. It was the pilot himself who thought that McMuffin’s shorts were too short, and said that if she wanted to fly, she had to change.

She tried to compromise, offering to put a blanket over herself for the flight, but the crew told her that that wasn’t acceptable. She was told:

“If you don’t change your clothes, you’re not going to be able to board this flight.”

McMuffin then had to book it to an airport store where she bought a pair of XL sleep pants in order to catch her flight.

McMuffin’s friend posted this message to Facebook, which is what initially caused the event to go viral:

This is Maggie McMuffin. Maggie is a burlesque performer and also a friend. This is what she was wearing last week when JetBlue told her she was dressed inappropriately and couldn’t board the flight from Boston to Seattle she had paid for. She was connecting in Boston from NYC, also a JetBlue flight – which had no issues with the way she was dressed.

No explanation was given except that the pilot said her clothes would prevent her boarding the plane. The flight lead asked if she had anything else to wear, and told her if she didn’t they could rebook the flight for her. Maggie ended up having to go to another terminal to buy a pair of women’s sleep shorts in XL for “proper coverage”.

Despite contacting Jet Blue at length, all they have done to “make it right” is refund her for the swim trunks and give her less than $200 in credit. The company apologized but the pilot did not. They have not offered any explanation for their behavior.

Sexism is alive and well in this world. How does what Maggie was wearing effect her ability to fly? It doesn’t.

Please share this status. Make this go viral. Maggie did not deserve to be treated like this.

Maggie’s story has kindled a debate, with some people saying that her experience was humiliating and sexist, while others say that she wasn’t dressed properly for an airplane.

JetBlue insists that they were correctly following their policy, which allows them to deny entry to anyone they believe is wearing obscene clothing (or lack thereof).