2008 Woodie Awards
When a tiny skirt equals fame
Staff Editorial
Issue date: 10/16/07 Section: Opinion
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What happens when an incident involving a Hooters waitress, a revealing skirt and a plane ride to Arizona for a mysterious doctor's appointment comes to the public's attention? The answer is one very famous 23-year-old.
Mesa student Kyla Ebbert sprung from anonymity early in September when she was asked by a flight attendant to leave a Southwest Airlines flight until she changed into something more appropriate.
Ebbert told "Today Show" co-host Matt Lauer that the flight attendant told her that because it was a family airline, she was "dressed too provocatively to fly on this flight."
They eventually struck a compromise that allowed Ebbert back on the plane: she pulled up her top and adjusted her skirt so it reached further down her legs. Ebbert claimed to be humiliated by the whole ordeal because the passengers nearest to them heard the interaction and she had to walk back to her seat with all eyes on her. She said she cried all the way to Arizona.
So, who is Ebbert really? Everyone seems to have an opinion. Is she the immodest girl who only wants to draw attention to herself, or the innocent student who just dresses "like every other college girl in San Diego," according to her mom?
The Mesa Press tried to go directly to the source for that answer. Unfortunately Ebbert was too busy appearing on television shows like "Dr. Phil", "Ellen" and "The Today Show" to respond to this publication's phone calls.
After Ebbert ducked out of interviews, the only place to turn to was the internet; her name offers approximately 98,000 hits on Google alone. The internet is causing her story to spread across the globe. Many Web sites allow viewers to publicly post their opinions. For example, as of Sept. 20, msnbc.com had 377 pages of comments about Ebbert from 3,011 authors.
All the conflict surrounding Ebbert has only blurred the main issue: Was her outfit reason enough to get kicked off an airplane? The ruckus of people running to defend the "victim of big business" has all but drowned out the possibility that this may in fact have been the case.
Mesa student Kyla Ebbert sprung from anonymity early in September when she was asked by a flight attendant to leave a Southwest Airlines flight until she changed into something more appropriate.
Ebbert told "Today Show" co-host Matt Lauer that the flight attendant told her that because it was a family airline, she was "dressed too provocatively to fly on this flight."
They eventually struck a compromise that allowed Ebbert back on the plane: she pulled up her top and adjusted her skirt so it reached further down her legs. Ebbert claimed to be humiliated by the whole ordeal because the passengers nearest to them heard the interaction and she had to walk back to her seat with all eyes on her. She said she cried all the way to Arizona.
So, who is Ebbert really? Everyone seems to have an opinion. Is she the immodest girl who only wants to draw attention to herself, or the innocent student who just dresses "like every other college girl in San Diego," according to her mom?
The Mesa Press tried to go directly to the source for that answer. Unfortunately Ebbert was too busy appearing on television shows like "Dr. Phil", "Ellen" and "The Today Show" to respond to this publication's phone calls.
After Ebbert ducked out of interviews, the only place to turn to was the internet; her name offers approximately 98,000 hits on Google alone. The internet is causing her story to spread across the globe. Many Web sites allow viewers to publicly post their opinions. For example, as of Sept. 20, msnbc.com had 377 pages of comments about Ebbert from 3,011 authors.
All the conflict surrounding Ebbert has only blurred the main issue: Was her outfit reason enough to get kicked off an airplane? The ruckus of people running to defend the "victim of big business" has all but drowned out the possibility that this may in fact have been the case.
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