Family of four have the accidental time of their lives on Pride flight
Jodie Harsh and Tituss Burgess led the entertainment on the Pride flight. (Virgin)
A family of four were treated to sequinned drag queens and LGBT+ anthems when they unwittingly boarded the inaugural Pride flight from London to New York on Saturday (June 29).
The straight couple and their two children were filmed joining in with celebrations on the Virgin Atlantic flight, which marked the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.
In a video shared by Attitude, the two children are seen jumping up and down in their seats to Lady Gaga’s seminal hit ‘Born This Way.’
This unsuspecting family accidentally booked on to the @VirginHolidays @VirginAtlantic #PrideFlight for their holiday – and they absolutely COMMITTED to the madness ??️? pic.twitter.com/RyzE3smUiL
— Attitude (@AttitudeMag) June 29, 2019
Attitude said that the “unsuspecting family” had “accidentally booked” onto the flight, tickets to which sold out within 24 hours.
Fortunately they embraced the fun and “absolutely committed to the madness,” the magazine added.
Jodie Harsh and Courtney Act dazzle on Pride flight
Drag queens including Courtney Act and Jodie Harsh were on board along with Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star Titus Burgess, who led the in-flight entertainment.
X Factor winner Saara Alto also performed for passengers including Grammy-winning singer-songwriter MNEK and trans activist Munroe Bergdorf.
Harsh said there was just an “incredible amount of positive energy” on the flight, and it was “the ultimate party in the sky”.
“Let me be perfectly queer – the Virgin Pride flight was an event to remember.”
—Titus Burgess
Burgess added: “Let me be perfectly queer – the Virgin Pride flight was an event to remember.”
Stonewall veteran heads for WorldPride
Tree Sequoia, a veteran of the uprising who still works at the Stonewall Inn, was another notable addition to the flight list.
Passengers disembarked at New York to join estimated four million who had gathered for WorldPride 2019.
The highlight of Pride month, the march paid tribute to Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P Johnson, the trans women of colour who kickstarted the LGBT+ rights movement.
Participants take part in the NYC Pride March as part of WorldPride.Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty)
Richard Branson, founder of Virgin and one-time owner of the London LGBT+ nightclub Heaven, said that he was “proud to see Virgin Atlantic making history with the world’s first ever Pride flight.”
“I strongly believe in making our businesses as inclusive and welcoming as possible,” he wrote in a blog post.
“LGBT+ discrimination is not just bad from a human rights perspective, it’s also bad for business. Open and inclusive societies are more competitive, creative and innovative.”
