Airline issues apology after sexually explicit movie was shown on every passenger's screen

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By stefan armitage

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A commercial airline has issued an apology after a sexually explicit movie played on every screen in the cabin during an international flight to Asia.

plane screenEverybody on the flight was forced to watch the same film. Credit: Grant Faint / Getty

Yes, passengers were left feel uncomfortable on the recent Qantas flight QF59 from Sydney, Australia to Tokyo's Haneda Airport - and it had nothing to do with the turbulence.

As a result of the technical glitch on the airline, travelers were left unable to choose their own films.

So, in order to make up for the inconvenience, flight attendants asked passengers what movie they would like to watch.

Amazingly, the agreed-upon movie ended up being Daddio (2023), which stars Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn.

Quantas airlineQantas flight QF59 experienced technical difficulties. Credit: Paul Kane / Getty

If you haven't seen Daddio, let me explain why this probably wasn't the best choice...

In the explicit drama, Johnson plays a young woman returning home to her apartment after a trip. She ends up speaking to her taxi driver (Penn) about her affair with a married man, which leads to the driver also revealing more about his own life.

The film, which features scenes of graphic nudity including exposed genitals, and raunchy text messages, features its fair share of moments you wouldn't want to be sat next to your grandma while watching.

To make matters worse, when the movie started playing on everybody's screen, passengers didn't have the option to turn it off.

Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn'Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn's R-rated film, Daddio, was displayed on the screen. Credit: Michael Buckner / Getty

One passenger took to Reddit to recall their experience on the flight, writing: “Qantas Played an Inappropriate Movie to the Whole Plane – No Way to Turn it Off!"

"So, I was on Qantas flight QF59 from Sydney to Haneda today, and the in-flight entertainment system was down. After a one-hour delay, the pilot decided to take off anyway, but the only option left was for the crew to play a movie on every screen – and it was impossible to pause, dim, or turn it off," they said.

"Here’s the kicker: the movie they played was extremely inappropriate. It featured graphic nudity and a lot of sexting – the kind where you could literally read the texts on screen without needing headphones," they continued.

"It took almost an hour of this before they switched to a more kid-friendly movie, but it was super uncomfortable for everyone, especially with families and kids onboard. I’ve attached a few pics of the scenes (only from the sexting parts, no nudity)," they wrote, adding: "How is this acceptable for a major airline? Has anyone else had something like this happen?"

The airline has since spoken out about the issue, with a Qantas spokesperson telling USA TODAY on Tuesday that the flight had suffered "technical issues with the inflight entertainment".

After it became apparent that the scenes in the movie were not appropriate for all passengers, "the flight was changed to a children’s movie", the spokesperson added.

"Our cabin crew apologized to customers inflight, particularly those who had complained about the content," the Qantas spokesperson said. "The movie was clearly not suitable to play for the whole flight and we sincerely apologize to customers for this experience."

The airline is now reviewing how the movie came to be selected in the first place.

Featured image credit: Paul Kane / Getty