Southwest flight chaos: Drunk NYC woman dragged off plane after hair-pulling, spitting incident; worked with top brands

Time of India

5 hours ago

A drunken passenger arrested at New York's LaGuardia Airport for causing a late-night scene on a Southwest Airlines flight — including grabbing another woman's hair, spitting and refusing to calm down, has been identified as a New York City-based artist who has worked with major fashion brands.
The passenger, 32-year-old illustrator Leanna Perry, has previously worked with major fashion and beauty brands like Maybelline, Adidas, Steve Madden, MAC, and Hot Topic, her online profile shows.
The violent episode unfolded early Tuesday morning at LaGuardia Airport, where Perry was filmed yelling at fellow travelers and resisting efforts by airline staff to remove her from the plane. Witnesses described her as acting 'possessed' before she was eventually restrained and escorted off the aircraft.
Perry's website reveals she started working as a lead designer at Maybelline last year and has also collaborated with designers Betsey Johnson and Nicole Miller, the New York Post reported.
Perry, who police said was 'intoxicated' when she was removed from the flight before takeoff, was caught on camera shouting at a female passenger, calling her a "fat a** bitch," and pulling her hair.
Video footage shows Perry shouting, "Shut the f**k up, don't f**king touch me!" at the startled passenger, before other travellers and airline personnel stepped in to intervene.
Despite repeated requests from Southwest staff members, Perry refused to release her grip on the woman's hair, as evidenced in the recordings.
Although staff eventually managed to separate them and restrain Perry's hands with zip ties, she remained uncontrollable.
Perry persisted in directing verbal abuse towards the woman, whilst also targeting other passengers with her outburst.
According to the criminal complaint, she proceeded to kick and spit at officers during their attempts to remove her from the plane and take her into custody.
Following the incident, Perry received medical attention before being transferred to the New York City Department of Corrections, according to PAPD.