Flight attendant sues Delta Air Lines after being fired for posting a cartoon of Donald Trump wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood on Facebook

• A former Delta flight attendant is suing the airline after being fired for a Facebook post.

• Leondra Taylor said Delta told her it was "racially motivated" and breached its social media policy.

• The former flight attendant accused the airline of unlawfully retaliating by sacking her.

A former Delta flight attendant is suing the airline after being fired for posting a cartoon of Donald Trump wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood on Facebook.

Leondra Taylor alleges that her dismissal violated her civil rights and accused the airline of unlawfully retaliating, according to court documents seen by Insider.

Taylor, who is African-American, said in the lawsuit she was dismissed in April 2021 over a cartoon that Delta deemed to be "racially motivated" and in breach of its social media policy.

The image showed the former president wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood at a debate with Joe Biden as a moderator says: "Thank you, Mr. President, for wearing your mask."

Taylor admitted to posting the image on Facebook but claims that although the post was political, it was not hateful, disrespectful, or discriminatory. The lawsuit said the cartoon instead made a point about COVID-19 protective measures and systemic racial discrimination against African-Americans.

The lawsuit, filed in a Georgia district court, alleged that Delta had actively examined Taylor's social media history after she helped another flight attendant who was also fired for breaching the company's strict social media policies.

The lawsuit alleged that another Delta employee, who is white, had not been terminated for her political posts on social media.

Flight attendants at Delta have been struggling with difficult working conditions in recent months. One told The Guardian that she and her colleagues put up with "so much" abuse from passengers amid a summer of travel chaos.

Flight attendants at Delta are trying to unionize. It is the only major US airline where cabin crew are not represented by a union.

A representative for Delta Air Lines told Insider: "When Delta employees intermix Delta's brand with conduct or content that does not reflect our values of professionalism, inclusion and respect, that conduct can result in discipline or termination.

"While personnel issues are considered private between Delta and its employees, the circumstances described by our former employee are not an accurate or complete explanation of the company's termination decision."

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