The British Airways stewardess behind a racist Snapchat rant against Nigerian passengers is an aspiring actress who hunted for male company on the Plenty of Fish dating website, MailOnline has reported.
Joanne Wickenden, being investigated by the airline, described herself as a “Princess” who likes a laugh as she boasted about her job as a flight attendant on the site.
The 23-year-old, a member of mixed fleet cabin crew, sparked outrage after recording the racist clip in her BA uniform before flying from London Heathrow to Abuja on Friday night.
Ms Wickenden, who is believed to have been suspended, refused to comment about the video at the home she shares with her mother and father in Fareham, Hampshire.
But a close friend defended the flight attendant and told MailOnline the film was recorded by a BA colleague, saying: “She’s not racist; it was a joke between two friends. It wasn’t meant to be racist. She is not saying she dislikes Nigerians and she’s not saying that anyone is better than anyone else.”
The friend continued: “The other colleague just wanted her to impersonate what goes on on the flight. Albeit it was an inappropriate comment to make. She’s very upset because now the whole world knows her face and thinks she’s a racist.
“It’s like someone had a vendetta [by releasing the video] instead of filing the complaint in a normal way.
“Everything is still up in the air at the moment because of the investigation.”
British Airways said in a statement that “We expect the utmost professionalism from our staff when they are representing British Airways. We are investigating this video.”
In the expletive-filled footage, Ms Wickenden said: “All Nigerians are going to be asking for f****** upgrades” – after claiming the men would need more leg room in an apparent joke about the size of their privates.
During the one-minute clip she also revealed how she was going to deal with passengers on the six-hour flight.
