- A CEO is suing American Airlines, alleging that a flight attendant told her “men just do stuff like that” after she reported that the passenger next to her in first class was masturbating for an hour.
- The woman is suing the airline for negligence, discrimination and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
- Attorneys for the CEO argue that the flight attendant’s comments implied that “as a woman, [she] was expected to endure such grotesque misconduct.”
A woman is suing American Airlines, alleging that a flight attendant dismissed her and told her “men just do stuff like that” after a male passenger sitting next to her in first class began masturbating during an eight-hour flight to Milan.
Neel Elsherif, the CEO of multiple companies, including vegan leather brand Mela, filed a complaint against American Airlines in the U.S. District Court’s Eastern District of New York on March 21, accusing the company of negligence, discrimination and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
In the complaint, obtained by PEOPLE, Elsherif alleges that she “suffered a disturbing and traumatic experience” during her premium economy flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City to Milan in May 2024, when an “intoxicated, caucasian male passenger seated next to her brazenly masturbated for approximately 60 minutes during the flight.”
“American strives to provide a positive experience to everyone who travels with us. We are reviewing the allegations of the complaint,” the airline told PEOPLE in a statement.
Attorneys for Elsherif argue that the flight attendant’s comment implied that “as a woman, [Elsherif] was expected to endure such grotesque misconduct, and [reinforced] the pernicious and unlawful stereotype that women must tolerate male predation as a fact of life.”
The complaint also argues that Elsherif’s alleged poor treatment from the flight attendant was racial, as she is of Arab and Middle Eastern descent, and both the flight attendant and the man — referred to only as “John Doe” — are white.
“The flight attendant gave John Doe preferential treatment over [her], and treated John Doe’s safety, comfort and convenience more importantly than [hers], because John Doe is a white male,” the complaint alleges.
According to the complaint, the man was served multiple glasses of champagne during the first hour of the flight, and Elsherif noticed him rubbing his pants soon after the lights dimmed and she was preparing to go to sleep.
“Before [she] fell asleep, she noticed John Doe was holding his groin and rubbing his genitals over his pants; when this rubbing did not stop, but instead intensified, [Elsherif] realized that John Doe was masturbating next to her,” the complaint states. “Stunned, Plaintiff froze in her seat and began to panic; she felt extremely uncomfortable and helpless.”
According to the complaint, Elsherif attempted to stare straight ahead and hoped that one of the flight attendants would notice and intervene, but the alleged incident went on for a full hour. Elsherif then stood up and spoke to a flight attendant to report the alleged incident after the man had stopped masturbating.
The CEO alleges that the flight attendant dismissed her, telling her “men just do stuff like that,” referring to masturbation, and that the attendant’s husband did “stuff like that.”
“The flight attendant stated that there was ‘nothing really that [she] can do’ except move [her] seat to a different seat in coach,” the complaint claims. Elsherif also asked the attendant to move the man’s seat to coach because she had paid more than $3,000 for her seat, but she claims the flight attendant refused.
She also claims in the complaint that she moved to a seat in coach and later observed the flight attendant serving John Doe more champagne and “engaging in jovial, friendly interactions” with him.
When she reported the alleged sexual assault to gate staff at both Milan Malpensa Airport and back in New York City, Elsherif was also told to “call the 1-800 number.”
Attorneys for Elsherif are requesting that American Airlines pay damages for causing emotional distress.
When reached for comment by PEOPLE, Elsherif said she had nothing additional to add.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
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