A woman was thrown off an American Airlines flight for, if you can believe it, having a nut allergy.

That’s right. American Airlines staff allegedly told Sophie Draper, a 26-year-old woman from Durham, that the airline was contractually obliged to serve nuts in business class, and it was against their company policy to make any allergy-related announcements. She was soon after “escorted” off the flight.

Draper tells the story as follows, recently taking to Twitter to share what happened, seeing as the airline did not provide her with, in her view, a satisfactory response to her complaint.

I’ve shared my experience to warn those with nut & other food allergies about @AmericanAir. Their discriminating company policy forbids them making allergy announcements which protect you. Also being told that they contractually HAD to serve nuts in 1st/Business class (15/16)

— Sophie Draper (@EnergySoph) February 6, 2022

Draper, who is an electrical engineer, was flying from Heathrow to JFK Airport in New York in December when the incident happened.

Draper describes the incident as follows: “Given @AmericanAir (AA) have still yet to respond to the complaint my partner submitted over a month ago, thought I’d come to Twitter to share my nightmare experience when I was meant to fly with them from @HeathrowAirport to NYC (JFK) at the beginning of December 2021.”

“We tried to inform AA of my life threatening allergy to nuts/peanuts before flying but there is no option to inform them online. At checkin we were told to speak to airline staff at the gate — standard practice with airlines flown with in the past: EasyJet, AirCanada etc.”

“However, this is where things begin to unravel. Firstly, I was met with confused looks by AA gate staff when I told them about my severe allergy. They asked if it would be okay if people around me could still eat nuts (I informed them that my allergy is airborne, so no).”

“To which the member of staff bluntly told us ‘well, they’re not going to stop serving nuts on the aircraft’ and ‘I really doubt that’s gonna happen.’ That said, they agreed to walk us to the plane ahead of the queue to discuss with the pager (lead cabin crew).”

“I believed the pager on the aircraft would understand, after all, it’s hardly a unique situation. Apparently, I was far too optimistic because they were not at all accommodating. They said ‘we are contractually obliged to serve hot mixed nuts in first/business class and ‘it was against company policy’ to make an announcement about any food allergies on the aircraft.”

“I was absolutely stunned that in 2021, with the number of fatal instances from nut allergy surfers flying, that this was their heartless policy.”

Sophie Draper

“Then they quickly tried to row back, offering scraps of reassurance including ‘well, we don’t serve peanuts though’ and ‘we don’t serve mixed nuts in Economy’ (not getting the point that I am allergic to tree nuts as well as peanuts) and that the allergy is airborne.”

“When asked about risks from recirculating air in the aircraft and the possibility of a passenger opening a bag of nuts next to me they simply responded ‘we can’t do anything about that.'”

“At this point both my partner and I were getting really concerned at how blasé they were being, leading to him straight-up asking what would happen if I went into anaphylaxis over the Atlantic. After a ‘he knows how to use your epi-pen, right?'”

“We were told in no uncertain terms that our discomfort was, in turn, making them uncomfortable. Without further discussion, they were already on comms getting our luggage was removed from the flight and we were escorted off the plane.”

Sophie Draper

Draper then said that she broke down in tears, feeling “totally discriminated against for a health condition I have no control over.”

She added: “Luckily some different AA staff were incredibly sympathetic and walked us to the BA transfer desk to get us reallocated flights.”

She then said the experience with BA was great: “In contrast, on our rescheduled BA flight hours later, the BA staff were fantastic. They stopped serving all nut products, made multiple announcements about there being a passenger with a nut allergy, and personally spoke with all passengers within a number of rows of me.”

“I’ve shared my experience to warn those with nut & other food allergies about @AmericanAir. Their discriminating company policy forbids them making allergy announcements which protect you. Also being told that they contractually HAD to serve nuts in 1st/Business class.”

Her story sparked debate on Twitter, with some showing their sympathy, and others defending the airline.

American airlines: I have chronic back pain and would like to request a full sized sofa to lie on during flights. I will ask your gate crew to accommodate me with no prior notice next time I travel with you

— Andy (@Andy36981152) February 14, 2022

One Twitter user wrote: “If your allergy is so severe, why did you casually book tickets online instead of speaking to customer service to make your nut allergy concerns known? Take some responsibility for your lack of action in this supposed situation. You are being way too unrealistic.”

Another commented: “If I’m paying for a first class ticket, I expect warm nuts.”

This is NOT discrimination. Stop using trigger words for your personal agenda. It is not the staffs responsibility to care for your allergy. You chose to fly, it is your job to do the research. And if I’m paying for a first class ticket, I expect warm nuts

— Trishelle (@TrishelleC) February 12, 2022

Another put it down to the airline being from Texas.

Well @AmericanAir is a Texas based company. That should tell you something.

— cwcooper (@cwcooper) February 9, 2022

Another Twitter user said given how common allergies are, airlines should know how to deal with them.

I have several food allergies and we’ve had a few flights with AA where I didn’t have a full reaction but didn’t feel great after it. With so many options available, I don’t understand why airlines can’t serve an alternative. It’s not like having food allergies is a choice.

— Tina Moricz (@MrsMoricz) February 12, 2022

The tale concluded with Draper accusing American Airlines of trying to save face instead of apologising. On February the 8th she wrote: “Despite a quick phone call to find out more information, @AmericanAir have not apologised to me or completed their response to the complaint we made (despite saying they would within a month) so not sure why they are claiming that they have to the press (maybe to save face?).”

Update: AA finally emailed us last night. There is no apology in the statement and no admission of wrongdoing apart from “it appears the situation could have been handled with more sensitivity”. It also has a misleading quote from the lead flight attendant which reverses blame.

— Sophie Draper (@EnergySoph) February 8, 2022

Flying in the friendly skies indeed.

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People sometimes say Kevin Hart is in love with himself, but actually, he’s in love with the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak.

The 42-year-old funnyman owns literally dozens of examples of the ultra-desirable (and rather expensive) horological icon. Just about every case material and complication you can get the damn watch in is represented in his collection: steel, gold, tourbillons, open-worked dials… You name it, he’s probably got one.

Needless to say, he’s probably got a pretty good relationship with his AP dealer, and we’re sure the brand is appreciative of his dedicated boosting. Maybe that’s why the superstar has been able to get his hands on a particularly attractive, yet-to-be-released variant of the Royal Oak.

Hart was spotted at a pre-Super Bowl LVI party held by Michael Rubin, the billionaire founder of sports apparel brand Fanatics, wearing an unreleased Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Automatic Chronograph in black ceramic. It’s a particularly handsome take on the Royal Oak formula, and one we hope will make it to dealers soon.

Presumably, it’s part of the ref. 26240 family of Royal Oak chronographs, meaning it’d be powered by AP’s in-house calibre 4401, boast a 41mm case size that’s 12mm thick, and feature the same ’50th Anniversary’ gold automatic rotor that all Royal Oaks produced this year will feature.

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The combination of the black ceramic case and bracelet with a matching black ‘Grande Tapisserie’ dial and rose gold highlights on this Royal Oak is pretty nifty and very luxurious. It also contrasts nicely with the white ceramic Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Kevin already has in his collection…

AP’s recent black ceramic models have proven to be exceptionally popular, so you can confidently assume that if this watch does make it to production (i.e. that it’s not a one-off made especially for Hart, which is not outside the realms of possibility) that they’ll be snapped up pretty quickly. Well, quicker than most Royal Oaks already move.

Steel ref. 26240s start at 30,300 CHF (~32,740 USD / 45,790 AUD) and yellow golds go for around 70,000 CHF (~75,640 USD / 105,790 AUD), so you can assume this model will be priced somewhere between those two extremes. Watch this space.

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Iconic striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic said that when his surgeon opened up his knee for his ACL operation a few years ago, he remarked that Zlatan had the knee of a person ten years or so younger, such was the shape he was in.

It’s not just his knees that are in good shape: at 41 years old Zlatan is still a beast. In fact, he looks stronger than ever.

Enter: the following video. Not content with proving he’s truly not human (last week) by ripping inverted crunches off a boxing bag, he today posted the following video. We’d suggest it reveals the simple secret to his superhuman myth-making. That secret? Hard work.

Video: Zlatan’s ‘Rambo’ Workout

The video shows Zlatan doing a Rambo-esque workout which (we believe) was inspired by a scene from one of the Rambo movies. The exercise involves stretching down backwards with your legs draped over a barbell, filling two cups with water, then crunching up to deposit the water in a bucket between your legs.

Zlatan makes the workout more difficult by putting an elastic exercise band around his ankles – a variation that targets the glutes and makes the legs work harder.

There you have it – a workout that will have you sweating buckets (and hopefully contribute towards getting you jacked) no matter what your age.

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Ben Simmons went viral last October when footage emerged of him training with what looked like a phone in his pocket (it was actually a practice jersey). But because of the standoff between him and his coach at the time (the team had fined him at least US $680,000 for missing three preseason games, after Simmons refused to play following his coach airing public doubts about him), both fans (and detractors) were quick to believe the rumour.

To a degree, this is understandable: if you’re pissed off, or deliberately trying to get fired (as many believed Simmons was), what better way to hasten a transfer than to check your texts during training? On the other hand, it was a cruel and unsubstantiated attack on Simmons’ professionalism.

In any case, it turns out that’s not what Simmons was doing. He’s more professional than that. Speaking of professionalism, Simmons this week turned up to train for the first time with the Brooklyn Nets as an official member of the team. Putting the last few months behind him, Simmons can be seen rocking up to training with not a cellular device in sight.

The excitement in the air has Instagram users like analyst Jordan Schultz quipping: “Nets as legit contenders, no doubt about it.”

For those ripping Ben Simmons for being at Nets practice and smiling anyone can smile and still deal with Mental Health

You don’t know what everyone goes through

— Ron Carthen (@rcarthen) February 15, 2022

It also had commenters divided. Some were happy for him, and came to his defence, (see, remarks like: “that boy look happy” and “As a 6ers fan I hope nothing but the best for Ben Simmons”) and others took the Shaq approach, still hung up on what happened at the Sixers.

“Now he shows up to practice ” one Instagram user wrote, while another commented: “Imagine [if he] start hitting jumpers and he was trolling the whole time.”

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“All the sudden he’s fine and can play basketball again. Such a baby,” said another.

Sportscasting reports that Brooklyn need to do 3 things to get Simmons playing well again: not ignore the mental health aspect of his recent troubles, get Ben Simmons with Kyle Korver, and let Simmons be what he is, not what the critics want him to be.

Given The Nets’ existing shooting power, Simmons could actually fit in quite well.

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After what’s been years of seeing depressingly reduced attendance numbers at big sporting events thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, Super Bowl LVI played out yesterday in front of a sell-out crowd at California’s gargantuan SoFi stadium. The game itself was also some of the most exciting and dramatic football in recent memory, with the Los Angeles Rams scoring a touchdown in the last two minutes to secure a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

It wasn’t just the football that was exciting. The star-studded event saw celebrities like Kanye West and LeBron James in attendance, and the stacked half-time show featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent was truly something to behold.

We also saw ‘the most likeable person in the world‘ – actor, muscle man and prospective presidential candidate Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson – provide a rousing, professional wrestling-style introduction to kick off the hotly-anticipated football final. It was a solid gold performance, and fittingly, he wore a solid gold watch for the occasion: an eye-catching Panerai Submersible Goldtech OroCarbo (ref. PAM01070) worth AU$44,400.

The Rock is known for his love of Panerais, which is perhaps not that surprising – they’re big, beefy watches, perfect for a big, beefy guy. (He also owns hefty pieces from the likes of Audemars Piguet, Breitling, IWC Schaffhausen and others).

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The Submersible Goldtech OroCarbo, as the name implies, features a Goldtech case – a unique alloy of gold, copper, and platinum that boasts a lustrous bronze-like red hue while being resistant to any oxidisation and corrosion when exposed to sweat or seawater.

Furthermore, the watch’s bezel is crafted from a combination of Goldtech and Carbotech, yet another proprietary Panerai material made from compressed carbon fibre combined with a high-tech, lightweight polymer.

The contrast between the watch’s gold and black elements is incredibly handsome; it’s sporty, masculine, and very luxurious. It’s not just a pretty face, either: like all Panerai Submersibles, it boasts a water-resistance rating of 300m and has a 3-day power reserve.

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A couple in Bali have caused a religious scandal after they were busted on tape getting frisky at one of the island’s biggest Hindu temples.

Last week, the Rambut Siwi Temple in Getasan Village, Badung Regency held a show for locals, which was filmed and put online.

During a comedy skit from the traditional show, a man and a woman can allegedly be seen getting frisky in the audience. They were subtle enough to avoid the attention of those around them, but not discreet enough to escape the attention of those watching the video afterwards.

Rambut Siwi Temple is one of the biggest Hindu temples in Bali, INDONESIA

located at Yeh Embang Kangin Village, Jembrana Regency

It is about 3 hours from Ngurah Rai International Airport or 30 minutes from Negara Regency.#BaliHinduTemples#IndonesiaHinduHeritage pic.twitter.com/cC2qxv9tjs

— Worldwide Hindu Temples ॐ (@temples_hindu) January 13, 2020

Coconuts Bali reports: “The act, which is considered sacrilegious for a place of worship, has drawn the ire of the local Hindu community.”

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The couple are yet to be identified. However, according to Bali Express, the village leader Gusti Ngurah Ketut Dharma Adnyana said on Sunday: “They are probably from outside of the village.”

“We were looking into who the people in the video were, but nobody knows them.”

Gusti Ngurah Ketut Dharma Adnyana

According to Coconuts Bali, if the couple are identified, they may face “social sanctions as determined by village traditions.”

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A biopic that’ll explore the life and story of Enzo Ferrari, the Italian motor racing driver, entrepreneur, and founder of luxury sports car manufacturer, Ferrari, seems to be cursed as the leading role has now been re-cast three times. The film – currently titled Enzo Ferrari – was co-written and will eventually be directed by Oscar-nominee Michael Mann, who is best known for producing The Insider.

Mann has been trying to make Enzo Ferrari for over twenty years now, and over the years four different actors have been cast as the titular character. Originally, in 1993 Robert De Nero was cast as Ferrari but as the film never seemed to get off the ground, De Nero dropped out.

Twenty-two years later in 2015, Christian Bale, who had previously worked with Mann on the film Public Enemies, was cast as Ferrari. Unfortunately, Bale was forced to give up the role because, according to Deadline, the Oscar-winner developed health concerns as it was required he rapidly gain weight for the role.

Beloved Aussie actor, Hugh Jackman was subsequently cast to replace Bale in 2017 and up until a few days ago, nothing new about the Ferrari film was ever announced. However, it looks like the biopic is finally gearing up to be filmed; but, once again, with a new leading man.

Oscar-nominee Adam Driver, known for the most recent Star Wars films, BlacKkKlansman and House of Gucci, will now play Enzo Ferrari in Mann’s film. Deadline reported that Driver has replaced Jackman – although it’s unknown why Jackman is no longer starring – and that Enzo Ferrari will start filming in May of this year in Italy.

Penélope Cruz and Shailene Woodley have also been cast in the film as Ferrari’s wife, Laura and his mistress, Lina Lardi, respectively. The film will be set in the summer of 1957 and will most likely explore the tragic events of the Mille Miglia race. In real life during the race, Ferrari’s driver was travelling at 250 kilometres per hour when a tire blew. This led to the car crashing and the impact killed the driver, co-driver and nine (five of whom were children) spectators.

STX has struck a deal to handle both domestic and international rights to Enzo Ferrari and Chairman of STX, Adam Fogelson announced that “​​STX is looking forward to the start of [Enzo Ferrari’s] production with this dream cast and filmmaker.”

The fact that multiple roles in the film have now been cast, an entertainment company is officially attached to the project, and Mann has announced he plans to start filming this year, it looks like the curse has finally (read: hopefully) been broken.

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London almost went one up on Paris when it comes to metallic monuments. The evidence for this is buried under one of the city’s most famous football stadiums – Wembley. It was going to be called The Great Tower Of London and it would have been 138 feet taller than The Eiffel Tower (it was set to be 1,200 feet tall, and The Eiffel Tower is 1,062 feet tall).

Unfortunately, in classic British fashion, it ended up being a bit underwhelming, with construction being abandoned while the tower was still just a stump. It was demolished in 1902 and its foundations were found again in 2002 when Wembley Stadium was being rebuilt.

So what went wrong? Firstly: the idea for the tower came from a Victorian railway magnate called Sir Edward Watkin. He was an ambitious man. He wanted to build the biggest tower in the world, like other men of the era, “to make his impact on the world,” Jason Sayer, from the London School of Architecture, told the BBC.

“The tower was to be his legacy.”

Jason Sayer

He was inspired by The Eiffel Tower in Paris. Though the Eiffel Tower was initially seen as a monstrosity, it soon became both iconic and lucrative. The Great Tower Of London, however, never ended up being either of these things, as Watkin chose to build it in the marshland on the outskirts of London.

He purchased 280 acres of land in the Wembley area and had hopes of building an entire new community with the project, connected to London by the Metropolitan Railway, which he had been chairman of since 1872. He also hoped to get more people using trains.

According to the BBC, “his park, which included a boating lake, waterfall and various sporting grounds, opened in May 1894 and quickly became popular with some 100,000 visitors in its first few months.”

“Those ambling lazily around the large green gardens would have heard the heavy clanking of metal as work continued on Sir Edward’s tower,” (BBC).

Things quickly went wrong though. The tower developed a lean. It also came apparent that it was a bit too far from central London to get the volume of people needed to make it profitable (as Mr Sawyer told the BBC, “If he had built it in Hyde Park it would probably have been a roaring success”).

As it was, the design that was chosen (Watkins held an international design competition and chose the submission of London architects Stewart, McLaren and Dunn), didn’t work well in the marshland. They got to about 150 feet and realised building higher would be dangerous.

At this point Wembley Park had been open for a year and was receiving moderate success (in terms of public visitation), but the tower was far from successfully completed.

As Christopher Costelloe, an expert on Victorian architecture and an inspector of historic buildings at public heritage organization Historic England, told CNN: “When they reached the first stage, it soon became clear that the building was subsiding. Not so badly that they couldn’t use it, but they certainly realized they’d have big problems if they carried on building it higher, increasing the strain on the legs.”

“Although it was opened to the public and elevators were installed, the tower was doomed,” (CNN).

“One of the main problems was that Watkin died in 1901,” Costelloe also told CNN. “He had been the driving force behind the project and with his death all that was left was a rational calculation of costs and benefits. People could go up to the first stage, but that wasn’t quite high enough to get the sort of panoramic views you’d get from the top of the Eiffel Tower, and the surrounding area wasn’t particularly developed or spectacular.”

“There just weren’t enough visitors to pay for finishing it.”

Christopher Costelloe

A year after Watkin’s died, the tower was deemed unsafe and closed. Soon after, it was torn down with dynamite. Though he got a hell of a lot wrong, Watkin’s vision for the Wembley area proved prophetic. The surrounding region continued to do well as both an industrial and residential suburb.

It also eventually became the home of one of the world’s most famous football stadiums – Wembley Arena.

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Beyoncé’s star power is so overwhelming she hardly needs an introduction. One of the world’s best-selling recording artists, a global sex symbol and style, the 40-year-old singer/songwriter is widely respected for impeccable artistry and taste.

Turns out she’s got amazing taste in cars, too. Jumping on Instagram to show off the outfit she wore to Super Bowl LVI yesterday, Queen Bey also subtly showed off a seriously impressive collection of vintage cars.

Three vehicles could be seen parked in the undercroft of her sleek modernist mansion: a mint green Chevrolet El Camino, a white Mercedes-Benz W113 SL-Class ‘Pagoda’ convertible, and most impressively, a rare Lamborghini LM002 with a white exterior and lairy red leather interior.

This exact car made a brief appearance in the luxe 2018 music video for Beyoncé and husband Jay-Z‘s collaborative single, APESHIT, but many publications including CNET at the time assumed the car was just on loan from Lamborghini because of its unique LM002 license plate. Nope, looks like it’s actually hers.

Also known as the ‘Rambo Lambo’, the LM002 was produced from 1986 to 1993 and remains one of the strangest and most desirable vehicles Lamborghini has ever made. A 4×4 off-road truck powered by the 5.2L V12 engine from the iconic Countach (or a 7.2L marine V12 for extra oomph and extravagance), the LM002 was a bizarre departure from form for Lamborghini.

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Imposing, crude and utilitarian, Lamborghini originally intended to sell the LM002 to the oil industry or the US military, but in the end, only 328 were ever produced, virtually all of which were sold to civilians. While a flop during its heyday, the LM002 has since become a cult classic thanks to its incongruous origins and incredible rarity.

In a world where most big-name celebrities fork out big bucks for similarly brutish luxury 4x4s like the Mercedes-Benz G-Class or indeed the modern Lamborghini Urus, Beyoncé’s LM002 is a refreshing and respect-worthy change of pace… As well as being an insane flex. Nicely done.

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