Australian airline Qantas has apologized to passengers after an R-rated movie was broadcast to every in-flight entertainment screen during a trip from Sydney to Tokyo.
Travellers on board the plane Saturday were told technical difficulties meant individual movie selection was not available for the international flight.
Crew members took requests from flyers for one movie selection to play across all of the passenger screens, and eventually selected the Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn-led film Daddio.
The movie, released in 2023, is rated R for adult language. sex and nudity, and includes a scene where photos of a woman’s breasts and a prosthetic penis are shown on a phone screen. The film takes place almost exclusively during a taxi ride and sees its stars discuss important relationships in their characters’ lives.
Individual screens could not be paused, dimmed or turned off by passengers.
In a statement, a Qantas spokesperson expressed regret over the film choice.
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“The movie was clearly not suitable to play for the whole flight and we sincerely apologize to customers for this experience,” Qantas said. “All screens were changed to a family friendly movie for the rest of the flight, which is our standard practice for the rare cases where individual movie selection isn’t possible.”
Qantas said it is reviewing the incident. It is unclear if the crew members were aware the film was rated R before it was screened.
On Reddit, one person who claimed they were on board the flight said the “extremely inappropriate” movie played for nearly an hour before it was turned off.
“It was super uncomfortable for everyone, especially with families and kids onboard,” they wrote.
Beyond the passengers who expressed upset over the awkward movie-watching experience, headlines about the Qantas apology provoked jokes online.
Air New Zealand seized the opportunity to boast its own in-flight entertainment options and joked on social media, “Plot twist: We let you choose your movies.”
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