On Apr. 3, Lido Pimienta announced that she would be working on a last album and would no longer go on tours due to airports and airlines maltreating her. In a recent Twitter thread, she revealed that she repeatedly experiences racism and classism in airports. She also opened up about said personal experiences and feeling safer behind the scenes in the music industry.
“One of the many reasons why I no longer want to go on tour and not be in music is the constant discrimination in airports and airlines,” she said via the Twitter thread. “I don’t know. It gets to a point where I get so anxious and nervous about being treated badly that I even pray for my well-being.”
In the post, she pens personal experiences that she’s gone through even when flying in ‘business’ or ‘coach.’ She details how she’s been cut in line, and discriminated against, simply because she doesn’t “dress ‘high class,’” or “have a ‘business look.’”
She also points out that even those in business class made fun of the airline workers for having an accent, and they still get treated better than those who look like her, who get “treated like sh*t.”
“I am sick and tired of being treated like a third-class citizen,” she wrote online. “No matter how many languages we speak, how many awards we have, how many people we help, how many academic degrees we have, or that we are a representation and window to our beautiful culture, classism ruins us.”
She continued: “There is nothing more distasteful than classism. Racism and xenophobia… Treating me like crap for being simple in my everyday dress or for not being tall, thin or white or ‘executive’ looking is the most disgusting and distasteful thing there is.”
Before wrapping up the thread, the Colombian-Canadian singer-songwriter mentions other intrusive experiences she has encountered in airlines before and says that even if she asks for the highest airline tickets, she still experiences these situations.
“One last album, and that’s it. No more touring,” she wrote. “I think I’m still happier using my talents for other people and artists that are relevant. I like the behind-the-scenes. I’m safe there.”
She concluded: “I deserve to be happy and live in peace. I don’t want to feel this ugly anymore.”
