By Bethan Sexton For Dailymail.Com
16:25 27 Dec 2023, updated 18:01 27 Dec 2023
Trans actress Tommy Dorfman has filmed the moment a Delta employee threatened to kick her out of LaGuardia airport after she complained when he misgendered her.
The filmmaker, who is friends with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaneywas waiting to board a flight to Atlanta when the incident occurred.
The 13 Reasons Why Star claimed she was ‘intentionally’ misgendered by two Delta staff ahead of the flight last week.
Video shows the 31-year-old facing off with a male Delta employee who initially refers to her as a woman, before correcting himself and calling her ‘he.’
At one point, the unnamed employee tells the TV star he could remove her from the airport.
‘If you want to continue, I have full authority to escort you out the building if you want to play that game with me,’ he says.
The video was posted to TikTok and later deleted. Dorfman initially captured the video: ‘Didn’t realize it was condescending to flag a human rights violation after another employee misgendered me incessantly.’
Delta said it is ‘aware’ of the video and was looking into the incident. DailyMail.com has contacted Dorfman for comment.
In the video, Dorfman scolds the employee for calling her a ‘he.’
‘You just misgendered me again,’ Dorfman says in the video. ‘Multiple times, both of you have.’
The Delta employee remains unfazed and replies: ‘It was intentional, but if you want to take it personal. That’s OK.’
Dorfman then claims his female colleague ‘did do it intentionally twice’, which is contradicted by a woman who is off camera.
‘You said he and then you said she,’ Dorfman adds, addressing the man again.
The employee then tells the actress she is ‘being condescending.’
‘If you want to continue, I have full authority to escort you out the building if you want to play that game with me,’ he says.
‘Would you like to continue three days before Christmas? I really don’t mind.’
Dorfman then sighs and puts down the camera.
Dorfman has appeared in numerous TV and film projects including Jane the Virgin and Lena Dunham’s Sharp Stick, but is best known for playing Ryan Shaver in 13 Reasons Why.
She also hosts the podcast, My First Time, where she interviewed Mulvaney.
Dorfman came out as a trans in a 2021 interview with Time magazine, but said she had been living as a woman ‘privately’ for a year before.
The altercation has prompted fierce comment on social media, users defending both Dorfman and the Delta employee.
One user wrote: ‘He needs to be fired, he is threatening to escort someone out over nothing, do you see this Delta?’
But one user said: ‘The “nothing” Tommy Dorfman committed here was: Abusing & bullying staff. Causing delays to passengers in a hurry at Christmastime, and Creating a public disturbance that could have escalated. The employee did exactly the right thing . He’s a superstar.’
While one added: ‘Employee deserves a raise and a commendation for stopping someone from intentionally causing a public disturbance to satisfy their ego and for social media attention.
In a statement shared with Newsweek, Delta said it is, ‘aware of the video and looking into the matter, including reaching out to our customer to understand more about what occurred.’
