United Passenger Claims Crew Made Him Change Controversial T-Shirt Before Boarding

Separately, a New Jersey man says he was told to change an anti-war T-shirt before boarding a United Airlines flight after a crew member found the message offensive.

Sam Saadeh, who lives in Linden, New Jersey, told CBS New York he was boarding a June 4 flight from Atlanta to Newark Liberty International Airport while wearing a shirt that read, “Bombing kids is not self defense.” Shortly after he sat down, he said, a United supervisor approached him.

Saadeh said the encounter left him “very confused,” especially because he did not understand what rule he had allegedly violated.

“He was like, ‘Hey, the flight attendant finds your shirt offensive,’” Saadeh recalled. “I was like, ‘Why?’ He goes, ‘Here are the choices. Either you change your shirt or you can’t get on this flight.’”

According to CBS New York, Saadeh said he changed shirts because he wanted to get home, but he described the experience as humiliating. He also said airline staff did not provide a clear explanation of how the message ran afoul of United’s policies.

United Airlines confirmed to INC News that Saadeh was ultimately allowed to travel on the flight after changing his shirt.

“This customer flew as scheduled after changing his shirt,” a United Media Relations spokesperson told INC News. “That’s all we’ll have to share.”

United’s Contract of Carriage states the airline may refuse transportation to passengers who are “not properly clothed, or whose clothing is lewd, obscene or offensive.”

INC News has not independently verified the passenger’s account, and United declined to provide additional details about why the shirt was deemed offensive.

Saadeh, who is of Palestinian descent, told CBS New York the shirt was intended to advocate for children and oppose violence regardless of nationality or ethnicity. He also said he filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation and is consulting with attorneys.

Wear the Peace, the organization behind the shirt, also posted screenshots on Facebook of what it said was an email Saadeh sent describing the incident.

In the email, Saadeh wrote that a United flight attendant first asked what his shirt said before a supervisor later asked him to get off the plane.

According to the email, the supervisor told Saadeh the flight attendant was offended by the shirt because it contained the word “bomb” and said he would have to change it or he would not be allowed to remain on the flight.

Saadeh also wrote that after landing in Newark, a United representative told him other passengers had complained because they found the shirt offensive and felt unsafe.

In a Facebook post, Wear the Peace said the shirt was “a peaceful statement, not a threat” intended to draw attention to the deaths of children in Gaza.

“The message does not encourage violence, threaten anyone, or suggest that the person wearing it intends to harm others,” the organization wrote.

In a follow-up Facebook post, the organization disputed the explanation that the word “bomb” prompted concern, arguing there was an important distinction between the phrase “Bombing kids is not self defense” and language suggesting a passenger posed a threat.

“The shirt did not say, ‘I have a bomb.’ It said, ‘Bombing kids is not self defense,'” the organization wrote, adding that clothing containing words such as “TNT” or “killer” is not typically treated as a security concern.

Wear the Peace also claimed one of its members recently flew on a United flight alongside a passenger wearing an Israel Defense Forces shirt without incident, arguing the airline applied its policy inconsistently.

INC News has reached out to the U.S. Department of Transportation to confirm receipt of Saadeh’s complaint, inquire whether the agency is reviewing the incident, and request comment on the allegations that a passenger was required to change his clothing before being allowed to travel.