celebrity

The Veronicas are spilling all the tea about what happened on that goddamn plane.

 

Twin sisters Jessica and Lisa Origliasso, better known as singing duo The Veronicas, were removed from a Sydney plane on Sunday, and we all care far more than we should.

Just when we thought we would never get the answers we so desperately sought, The Veronicas have shared further details about what took place before the flight took off, and yes darlings pls go on. 

The first incarnation of the story claimed The Veronicas had been thrown off the flight headed to Brisbane by Australian Federal Police after what was described as "belligerent" behaviour.

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An argument was said to have broken out between the cabin crew and the duo, after they allegedly refused to place their luggage in the overhead bin and became "disruptive" which is precisely how we imagine all celebrities on planes to behave.

A fellow passenger named Greg told The Courtier Mail, "They were just being obstructive and not following instructions. The plane was getting pretty agitated."

What. We. Would. Have. Done. To. Be. On. That. Plane.

Video by Ten Play

Eventually the pilot made an announcement referring to the pair as a "security risk" and confirmed they had been removed.

On Friday morning the 34 year olds posted to their shared Twitter account a series of statements and claims made my fellow passengers.

"We wish to remove ourselves from this awful and unbelievable experience," the pair began.

"We have lasted 15 years in our industry because we have always stood up for what we believe in and who we are. To have an airline we have been loyal customers to and ambassadors for, for over 15 years, withhold communication, overextend the use of public resources and allow a false narrative to continue on a public level has been a particularly hard pill to swallow."

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They continued, "We take the utmost pride in being raised as respectful and kind women, and over the last five days we have attempted to clear our names."

"While we may not have always approached this through the wisest channels, we did so with the sole intention of defending our character. We acknowledge when we make mistakes but refuse to accept shame when we have been unfairly targeted.

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"We would like to thank everyone who has reached out. In particular those onboard QF516 who were witnesses and reached out in our defence, and to all Qantas flight crew who have privately reached out with messages of disbelief, love and support. It is you who have the airline a home away from home, for the past 15 years."

The pair then shared a number of messages and tweets by fellow passengers, confirming that they had not refused to move their bags and their removal was an "overreaction".

"I was sitting right in front of you girls," read one passengers comment, "and believe the whole situation was an overreaction... had they explained the reason why they cannot touch your bags would have provided [sic] you girls with the answers you politely asked for...  I have personally seen many attendants assist with moving bags to make room for others.... the flight attendant blew this up more than needed and you guys got the raw end of the stick."

It is understood that The Veronicas had placed their bags in the overhead compartments with the wheels facing outwards, and were asked to move them. Both women, who stand at just over five feet tall, perhaps struggled to reach, and requested assistance. Airline staff, however, are not meant to lift passengers bags in case of injury, which might have led to some confusion.

The sisters posted on Twitter: "We have 16.33 minutes of time coded footage of a 22 minute incident. Starting at 10:02am and finishing at 10:22am. At no point did we raise our voice, use profanity or become argumentative. At no point was there a dispute with the stowing o our baggage. At no point did any flight crew, pilot, passengers or federal police ask us to stop filming."

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"What we did do, was ask for the flight attendants names after they approached us seemly [sic] without reason, to reiterate a company policy that prohibits them from helping to assist us with the rearrangement of baggage-at their request. (Since the incident, we have found there is no such policy in place that prohibits cabin crew with the assistance of baggage.)"

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Though helping passengers with luggage is not necessarily 'prohibited', earlier this year The Flight Attendants Association of Australia (FAAA) had won the ­assurance from Qantas that cabin crew would not be expected to help passengers lift baggage, according to The Australian.

The airline has also confirmed that as a general rule cabin crew are not required to help passengers place luggage in overhead lockers.

The pair then posted a picture of one of the flight crew who approached them, with his name tag pinned backwards, ensuring his identity was not visible.

Mamamia has chosen not to republish this image due to privacy reasons.

Listen to Mamamia's celebrity podcast, The Spill, where Laura Brodnik and Kee Reece discuss the awkward interview with The Veronicas on The Project. Post continues below. 

As well as posting a number of emails and tweets from fellow passengers corroborating their story, the singers concluded, "The last thing we would like to mention for anyone, but ESPECIALLY our young fans reading about this incident, is that you are ALWAYS within your rights to stand up against bullies who try to silence you. And against what is right from wrong.

"In light of this, we will be making a donation to Bullyzero.org.au who work to reduce and prevent bullying and cyber bullying in schools, workplaces, online and in communities across Australia."

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The Veronicas fiercely denied on The Project earlier this week that this controversy is in any way related to the launch of their upcoming reality television show which will air on Foxtel later this year, which is titled 'Jess and Lisa: The Veronicas' if... like... you want to watch it or whatever.

“This is a legal matter, not a publicity stunt,” Jessica told co-host Tommy Little, after describing the incident as "upsetting and embarrassing".

Mamamia have reached out to Qantas for comment, but had not heard back at the time of publication.

In conclusion, we refuse to ever stop reading about what happened between a) The Veronicas and b) the plane.

It remains the most important and perplexing mystery of our time.