Masks… it looks like they’ll be part of our lives for the foreseeable future. And there are lots of situations where wearing them isn’t optional. One lawyer found that out the hard way.
Meet Louis Stead, a lawyer in the U.K. who reportedly styles himself as “just about the only man that truly challenges the status quo.” He was on a recent EasyJet flight from Egypt to the U.K. and refused to don a mask.
He was promptly confronted by crew members, and claimed a disability:
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“What you need to do is tell the Captain that under the Equality Act 2010…you are not allowed to discriminate against a person with a disability as defined by that Act”, explained Stead.
“No, no, no, there’s more”, continued the lawyer when a flight attendant interrupted. “Don’t be pacifying and dismissive of me, it’s not right”.
“Sir, we’ve got to stop you”, insisted the crew member, “I’ve got to tell the Captain what you’re saying”.
EasyJet later said Stead didn’t provide adequate proof of disability. And they pointed out some holes in Stead’s legal argument, specifically that the Act Stead cited doesn’t apply on airlines and certainly doesn’t apply while the plane is in Egypt. Womp womp.
In a video of the confrontation, which you can watch below, the other passengers quickly get involved in the shenanigans, and come out pretty clearly in favor of the airline:
“Get him off!” shouted a woman, as others chanted, “Off! Off! Off!”
“People want you off. You’re off now”, snapped a flight attendant, as passengers chipped in with their views, which included, “Get off the plane!”, “Fuck off you twat!” and a baby wailing.
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In the face of this mob justice, and the prospect of being kicked off the plane, Stead decided to wear a mask for the duration of the flight.
Stead has said he suffers from PTSD following a 2012 stabbing incident when oxygen masks were used to keep him alive. He says that as a result, wearing a mask is triggering for him:
‘I’m genuinely disabled. I struggle with my post-traumatic stress disorder. It’s not a made up condition but it’s a condition that’s invisible.
‘I dress well and I look perfectly normal, and people assume I’m just some wealthy guy who drives a nice car, walks perfectly fine, looks fine and I’m just pulling a fast one.’
Nice mask!
It’s now relevant to note that the reason Stead was in Egypt was to scuba dive and look at real estate investment opportunities.
Perhaps those airline passengers were on to something after all.
You can watch the now viral video of the airplane confrontation below.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).