An Australian woman has lifted the lid on the embarrassing moment she claims she was told to button up her cardigan by Qantas staff in the airline’s Brisbane lounge.
Nikki Osborne, 44, said the shocking encounter left her feeling humiliated and degraded – particularly as it happened in front of a male colleague in her hometown.
Nikki recalled dressing in tailored white shorts, a pink bodysuit and a knitted white cardigan for her work trip to the Whitsundays when she was suddenly confronted by a lounge employee.
‘A staff member hurried up to me, grabbed me by the arm and said: ‘Firstly, I’m a long-time fan of yours, but I’ll need you to button your cardigan up to cover yourself to protect the other cultures in the lounge,’ Osborne wrote in her QWeekend column.
‘All I saw in the lounge were a few FIFO workers and a mum! I was suddenly shaken with a combination of shock, embarrassment, humiliation, anger and frustration. It was actually hard to process that I’d been made to feel like a tart in my hometown.’
The comedian, who is also a mother, said the incident struck her deeply because she has always made a point of dressing well and being taken seriously in her profession.
Nikki Osborne has lifted the lid on the embarrassing moment she claims she was told to button up her cardigan by Qantas staff in the airline’s Brisbane lounge. (Pictured)
The Nova 106.9 Brisbane breakfast presenter, 44, said the shocking encounter left her feeling humiliated and degraded – particularly as it happened in front of a male colleague in her hometown
‘To have a woman suggest that my choice of dress is inappropriate really hit hard,’ she admitted.
Osborne added that her cleavage had been covered by her cardigan but it still wasn’t enough for staff.
‘Do I have cleavage? Yes. Had I covered the top of it? Yes. Was that enough? Apparently not!’
After she spoke about the incident on her breakfast radio show, Osborne said she was stunned by the press coverage and the online backlash, with some commentators even suggesting she should be kept out of the lounge.
‘I read the comments and so many people, without hesitation or any knowledge of what I was wearing, were lumping on about keeping trash out of the lounge. I’m trash now? How did this happen?!’ she wrote.
Osborne insisted she wasn’t launching a ‘Qantas beat-up’ and said the airline later reached out with assurances the incident wouldn’t happen again.
But she admitted the follow-up phone call left her feeling even more scrutinised after staff went through her outfit item by item.
Despite the ordeal, the radio star said her faith in the airline was restored when a flight attendant later greeted her warmly by her comic persona ‘Bush Barbie’ and treated her with respect throughout her journey.
Nikki recalled dressing in tailored white shorts, a pink bodysuit and a knitted white cardigan for her work trip to the Whitsundays when she was suddenly confronted by a lounge employee
‘That air steward salvaged my week,’ she said.
Osborne concluded that while she’ll continue flying with Qantas, she’ll think twice about what she wears in the lounge.
‘I’ll continue to choose what is appropriate clothing to wear and steer clear of the high moral ground of the Lounge.’
