JetBlue Apologizes Over Viral Photo Of Worker’s Racist Homeless Person Halloween Costume

Stories of big corporations mocking the homeless and other disadvantaged groups are nothing new under the sun.

Still, it looks like companies like JetBlue just have not learned their lesson from all the controversy observers have seen of this type over the years.

A worker for the company recently drew a lot of negative comments by dressing up as a homeless person, with the specific theme of the costume being that they were “trying to get back to Puerto Rico or Cuba.”

As can be expected, pictures of the costume immediately became viral and have painted the company in a very negative light, with many expressing their disappointment over the apparent lack of sensitivity that JetBlue has displayed in this ordeal.

The company itself had not responded immediately to the controversy, drawing even more negativity to the situation, with many people claiming that this was equal to defending the actions of the employee.

However, Derek Dombrowski, manager of corporate communications at JetBlue, put out the following statement: “In the spirit of Halloween, our crewmembers are welcome to celebrate in costume, but one crewmember chose a costume that was clearly insensitive and not in line with our costume policy.”

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This post comes from a Twitter user that spotted this alleged Fort Lauderdale @jetblue employee, sporting this tasteless and disrespectful ass "costume" for Halloween. I still don't find what people get out of dressing up in what they believe is a representation of someone else's culture, especially when these types of "costumes" is what they produce. Living, breathing, resisting people are not your fashion statement! Mera @jetblue we want answers, is this in fact one of your employees(kind of hard to deny given the flipped over nametag clipped to her shirt)? Does this not violate some sort of conduct code in your employee handbook? Wheres the accountability? #jetblueairways #Jetblue #WeArentYourCustome

A post shared by Nuestra Matria Borkén ☭ (@nuestra_patriapr) on Nov 1, 2019 at 3:07am PDT

And unsurprisingly, many have been calling for the resignation — or even forced dismissal — of the person in the picture.

Not everyone has been that strict in their responses to the situation, with some pointing out that while the employee deserves some reprimanding, it should not cost them their whole job.

Opinions on the situation have been mostly divided, but one thing is clear at this point — this is not a small situation that is going to die down soon.

One commenter argued: “Omg many people very sensitive for everything. Learn to see the humor of things; many bad things are happening to focus on little ones. You have to learn to live a little more relax.”

A second person replied: “I used to dress as a bum when I was 10, and my mom couldn’t afford to buy me a costume. Was that wrong on me? Smh, at least she’s trying to get back to PR or Cuba and not stay here where people get offended for anything nowadays‼️”

Some say JetBlue should do their best to get on top of this case because it could cost them quite a lot in the way of reputation.

The incident happened at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.