A former Vogue editor known for her outspoken views recently shared an unusual travel decision: she deliberately switched from first class to business class on a flight to Milan to avoid being surrounded by white men.
Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, aged 34 and based in Brooklyn, took to her Threads account to share her experience on Tuesday evening.
In her post, she explained, “I just downgraded myself from first class to business class on my flight to Milan.”
She described the first class cabin as having six seats, five occupied by middle-aged white men, alongside herself, a black woman in her 30s who frequently travels in such cabins, and a male flight attendant whose service she found lacking, marked by what she perceived as microaggressions from the start.
Karefa-Johnson elaborated, “He was… wrong,” adding that she would gladly trade physical comfort for the sake of her emotional and mental health.
However, she did not provide specific details regarding the microaggressions she experienced.
She also declined to explain the ‘substandard service’ she received. The Daily Mail has contacted her for further comment.
The progressive activist’s pronouncement about ‘sacrificing physical comfort’ was likely overblown, given that the business class cabin she moved to would also offer flat-bed seats and copious amenities.
Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, 34, a former fashion editor at Vogue, says she downgraded herself from first class on a flight because the premium cabin was filled with ‘white middle-aged men’
Karefa-Johnson, who quit Vogue in 2023 after posting an anti-Israel rant in the wake of the October 7 massacre, quickly attracted gushing praise for her downgrade.
‘I’m sorry you had to do that-you deserve to be anywhere and everywhere. They belong in economy,’ one simpering follower wrote – ‘they’ being an apparent reference to white men.
‘Hard agree!’ Karefa-Johnson replied. ‘It’s just such a bummer that humiliation is part of gratification for racists.
‘Protecting my peace felt like letting him win and I hate that.’
It is unclear which airline Karefa-Johnson flew with.
Emirates and American are the only companies that offer direct flights from New York JFK to Milan with both first and business-class cabins.
Karefa-Johnson, an outspoken fashion designer and commentator, first hit the spotlight when she became the first black woman to style a Vogue cover in 2021.
During her tenure as contributing editor-at-large of the fashion outlet, she got into a public feud with Kanye West after the rapper launched ‘White Lives Matter’ apparel in 2022.
An Emirates business class cabin. The airline is one of two that offers both first and business class cabins on direct flights between New York JFK and Milan airports
Karefa-Johnson has been vocal about the Gaza conflict, wearing a statement sweater at Copenhagen Fashion Week last August. She quit her role at Vogue after an anti-Israel rant
When Karefa-Johnson criticized the fashion launch, she hit out at the rapper for his ‘deeply offensive, violent and dangerous’ politics.
West reacted with scorn, ridiculing her outfits online and saying she had no understanding of fashion.
Karefa-Johnson said that the experience left her facing ‘fat phobia’ from social media, saying she was hit by ‘people talking about my body and the way I look.’
A year later, the designer made headlines again as she dramatically quit Vogue after delivering a hateful anti-Israel rant following the Hamas October 7 terrorist attacks.
Karefa-Johnson sparked outrage with her response to the horror attacks that killed more than 1,400 Israelis, as she accused Israel of committing ‘genocide’ and comparing the IDF to a ‘terrorist organization.’
‘It’s so disappointing to see the utter lack of understanding of the basic tenets and tactics of colonization, and one’s willingness to justify and defend those systems which have only ever oppressed,’ she posted on her Instagram at the time.
‘Damn. I hate when Instagram shows me what I hope I never know about the people I follow and their horrifying belief systems,’ she added to the post.
She quit the fashion outlet over the controversy, and abruptly changed her Instagram bio from ‘global contributing editor-at-large for Vogue’ to simply ‘many things.’
