'90210' Alum AnnaLynne McCord Denounces Southwest Airlines' Family Boarding Policy

"90210" alum AnnaLynne McCord called out Southwest Airlines Saturday after the company allegedly "bullied" a gay couple. The actress published an open letter to her Instagram account to address the discrimination a family of two daughters and two fathers received by the airline when boarding their flight.

Jacob Lapp and David Forstadt claimed to be traveling with their twin daughters from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, when they were denied Family Boarding privileges by a Southwest employee. The airline employee allegedly informed them that they didn't qualify as a family.

"It was their first flight ever and they were so excited to join their Daddies on a family trip," McCord wrote. "Only your employees made it clear that these beautiful little girls and their fathers were not in fact 'family.'"

"When it came time for 'Family Boarding' these little girls were shown what has caused the detriment in our world; hate."

The family was denied permission to board with other families, and they were forced to watch other families board ahead of them. McCord concluded her letter by requesting that the company should no longer "promote" hate.

"I implore you, as a company that seeks to provide a happy experience for all of its customers, to hire individuals who despise hate, not love; who embrace difference, not look down on it," she continued. "Please, don't allow your company to promote the hate that destroys the pure innocence of the love of a child."

The Southwest employee who denied the family access to Family Boarding reportedly provided no further explanation to justify their decision, according to ABC affiliate WPLG. The gate agent allegedly said, "No! There is categories for a reason. Not you! No! Move!"

Southwest has not responded to McCord's open letter at this time. However, the airline spoke with People Saturday about the incident between the family and the airline employee. Southwest reportedly has "regret [for] any less than positive travel experience."

"We don't have any existing reports associated with the Customers’ travel experience but we have contacted the Employees involved for an internal review of what happened," a Southwest representative told People. "Our Customer Care Team reached out directly to the Customer and has not received a response."

Southwest's Family Boarding policy reads, "An adult traveling with a child six years old or younger may board during Family Boarding, which occurs after the 'A' group has boarded and before the 'B' group begins boarding. If the child and the adult are both holding an 'A' boarding pass, they should board in their assigned boarding position."

Southwest also claim to be advocates for the LGBT community. The airline's website states: "we support the LGBT Community because we are the LGBT Community." However, this isn't the first time that the airline has discriminated against LGBT families.

An LGBT family attempted to board a Buffalo flight heading to Fort Lauderdale in May, according to ABC affiliate WKBW. The family, who include twin sons and a daughter, were denied Family Boarding privileges. The couple was told that only one of the legal fathers could board with their three children. The family was separated on the flight.

A representative for Southwest Airlines did not immediately return International Business Times' request for comment.

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