Air Zealand Bows To Pressure And Cuts Non-Gay Kiss From In-Flight Safety Film; Gay Community Said Humorous Video Could Contribute To Suicides; Suggestions Gay Community “A Little Too Precious”

Air New Zealand, responding to complaints from the country’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community, have censured an in-flight safety video, editing out a scene where All Black rugby star Richard Kahui refuses to kiss a gay flight attendant on the cheek, reports AFP. The airline says it has agreed to remove the scene after concerns were expressed that the video, meant to be humorous, could create a climate of homophobia. The video, screened prior to takeoff, titled Crazy About Rugby, shows the All Black team running through safety procedures, Kahui posing for photographs with female flight attendants, holding up his hands and refusing to kiss when male flight attendant Will Coxhead, who is openly gay, points to his cheek, hoping for a kiss. General Manager Airlines Operations and Safety Captain David Morgan said that “The video has been a phenomenal hit from the perspective that it has really engaged customers in its core messages around safety. When we created this video and discussed the scene featuring a gay male flight attendant and a rugby player with key stakeholders, including a number of the gay community, we received none of the feedback we have in the past week. The scene was not something that we, the people we tested the scene with, or indeed the participants in the scene, viewed as distasteful or likely to cause concern. We could have set out to run research on whether the views of the complainants in the past week were representative of the wider gay community. However, given the Crazy About Rugby safety video only has another seven weeks to run, we have opted on the side of caution and are changing out the scene." Coxhead says he is shocked by the response from the gay community, saying "I'm absolutely gutted that a couple of people in the gay community have ruined this for everyone else. I'm proud to be gay, proud to be an Air New Zealander and extremely proud of my role in the safety video. Obviously there are some people in the gay community that can be a little precious and need to lighten up. If anything this particular scene shows a bit of light hearted humor about the situation," he says."If you take the complainants' view of life, why not cry foul about gay people showing any sign of affection to anyone who's straight. Come on, it was a bit of fun and was only meant as such."