'Indians are crazy': Woman hurls racist slurs at photographer at LA airport, put on no-fly list
The woman was caught on camera making offensive comments, targeting Taufiq, his wife, and their two young children
PTC Web Desk: An American woman has been permanently barred from flying with United Airlines after an incident involving a racist attack on Indian-American wedding photographer Pervez Taufiq and his family at Los Angeles International Airport. The altercation occurred on a shuttle bus transporting passengers to their flights.
The woman, identified as Karen, was caught on camera making offensive comments, targeting Taufiq, his wife, and their two young children. She began by telling the children to “shut up” and later escalated her remarks, claiming, “Your family is from India, you have no respect for the rules... Indians are crazy.”
Taufiq, a celebrated photographer, began recording the confrontation when her behaviour intensified. The woman was seen sticking up both middle fingers and making further derogatory remarks, saying, “You think you can push everyone... Indian people are f*****g crazy.” She continued with insults, mocking the family with references to curry and tandoori, while others on the bus attempted to intervene.
Security personnel were summoned, and the woman defended her actions, claiming she was the victim of racism. “She doesn’t care that I’m a racist. You’re racist towards me. I’m American,” she said. When Taufiq pointed out that he was also American, she retorted, “You’re not American. Not originally, no. You’re from f*****g India.”
Despite Taufiq’s calm attempts to clarify that he was born in the US, the woman dismissed him, claiming his passport would say otherwise. Passengers rallied around the family, with some demanding the woman be removed from the bus. One passenger said, “She’s drunk, out of line, and we need her off the bus,” while another added, “She started calling racist slurs at this nice family. They didn’t do anything.”
Taufiq later shared the video of the incident on Instagram, expressing his outrage and disbelief. “My blood is boiling. She told my kids to shut up, and I lost it. She doesn’t have the right to talk to my kids like that,” he stated.
In response to the incident, United Airlines issued an apology to the family and confirmed that the woman has been placed on their no-fly list.