A British Airways flight attendant fired for filming a racist video in which a colleague mocked Asian passengers by making slant-eyed gestures and using a Chinese accent was set up by a colleague with a vendetta of long time against her, a friend said today. .
Holly Walton and Lauren Bray were both fired from the airline after the clip surfaced on TikTok.
But a source close to Ms Bray, 28, from Crawley, West Sussex, claims the clip in which Ms Walton appears to mock Asian passengers is more than two years old and was manipulated by a colleague she talks to a long relationship. ongoing dispute.
They claimed Ms Bray reported the colleague to Sussex Police – and said he uploaded the video to TikTok and maliciously linked Ms Bray’s name to it.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Ms Bray’s friend said she was appealing her dismissal – and accused BA of making a ‘rash decision’ without carrying out a proper investigation.
Holly Walton appears to make a slit-eyed gesture as she mocks Asian passengers by putting on a Chinese accent
Ms Walton is believed to have made the video at the luxury Trade Winds hotel in Antigua with colleague Lauren Bray while the pair were said to be between flights.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, a friend of Lauren Bray said she is appealing her dismissal – and accused BA of making a ‘rash decision’ without carrying out a proper investigation.
“The video is fake. It’s a fake TikTok account,” the source close to her said. “It’s all fake and has nothing to do with Lauren.
“The clip and photos that were manipulated date from 2019 and 2022.
“It’s horrible and it’s not what it seems. It was not put on TikTok by Lauren or Holly. It’s a fake account on TikTok, everything has been manipulated. How? We don’t know – that’s what the police are investigating.
“All I know is that Lauren was involved and it was all put on TikTok and manipulated to make it look like she and Holly were together.
“I have no idea who filmed this video. Lauren and Holly obviously know each other. They both worked for BA and sometimes worked on the same flights.
“Lauren had been with BA for six years and Holly for ten.
“If they were racist and troublemakers, they wouldn’t have served all this time, would they?
In the video, Ms. Walton is seen wearing a blue dress with red-tinted glasses on her head and with a cartoonish Chinese accent saying, “Give me some wine.”
She then appears to be gesturing with slanted eyes as a bottle of beer is placed on the table in front of her.
The clip was reportedly filmed from the luxury Trade Winds hotel in Antigua.
The two men were allegedly cabin crew on flight BA2157 from Gatwick and joked between flights.
Outraged colleagues said they mocked a Chinese family on board a busy flight who spoke little English.
An employee of Asian descent said she was “shaken” by the clip, which has been viewed more than a million times on TikTok.
Another said the women were “deliberately mocking” the family, which “sends the worst possible message”.
Ms Bray and Ms Walton were summoned to a meeting with BA bosses at the airline’s headquarters on Monday where they were sacked. Ms Bray apparently left in tears.
The source said: “British Airways has records showing who was on these flights and whether there were any Asians on the flight. If these passengers were so angry and complained it was two years ago, why has this come to light now? None of this is clear. None of this makes any sense.
The pair were cabin crew on flight BA2157 from Gatwick and were believed to have been between flights when they made the video at the luxury Trade Winds hotel in Antigua. Pictured: Holly Walton
Ms Walton was ordered to return from a return trip to Cancun, Mexico, for Monday’s showdown meeting with BA bosses at the airline’s headquarters, The Sun reported, where the two men were fired. Pictured: Holly Walton
The clip was widely shared on TikTok and has been viewed over a million times. Pictured: Holly Walton
“Lauren and Holly’s TikTok accounts were private, so anything that was obtained was hacked.
“They didn’t put it on TikTok, someone else did. It has nothing to do with them, they are not that stupid.
“This same TikTok account included Lauren’s personal Facebook information, photos of her, myself, our family and the fact that she lived in Crawley.
“All of this was deleted and police initially treated this as a hate crime against Lauren due to personal information.
“This is a fake TikTok account with fake bots because all the comments are from fake accounts.” It’s the same four people and the likes were bought and generated.
“BA is well aware of all this and is looking into the matter, so when they find out who it is, that person will also be fired.
“Most likely this is the person who went to the newspapers, a colleague who has a grievance.”
The source criticized the way the UK’s national airline handled the matter, adding: ‘Lauren and Holly should have been suspended pending an investigation, but BA made a rash decision because bosses knew it was going to come out and so they did what they did. they thought they were making them look good under the circumstances.
“Both women appealed and both got the union on their side because proper procedures weren’t followed and now we know why – because BA obviously meant ‘we got rid of both of them’.
Ms Bray is now looking for work outside the aviation industry and was already looking to change jobs due to the strain being a flight attendant put on her relationship.
The source added: “Lauren left with friends to escape all this.
“She was considering quitting flying anyway because being away a lot wasn’t working with her partner.
“She never wants to work for BA again, her main goal is to hand the matter over to the police, let them sort it out.” She will find another job and move on with her life.
“If we need legal advice we will, but we are waiting for it at the moment because the police are close to finding out who leaked all of this.”
A BA spokesperson said: “All forms of racism are completely unacceptable and we take allegations of this nature very seriously.
“These two people are no longer employed by us.”