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Muslim Woman Claims Discrimination on United Airlines Flight; Ex-Olympian Bruce Jenner Makes Public Debut as "Caitlyn". Aired 8:30- 9a ET

Aired June 2, 2015 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[08:29:54] CHARLES BLOW, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Let me tell you why people respond in that way. The criminals do not work for you, right? The police do work for you. The police are charged with serving and protecting. You don't want to be in a neighborhood where you have to be afraid of the criminals and the cops. Right? So the people who are being paid with your tax dollars should be accountable to you, and so if they take a life, yes, there should be blowback and there should be outrage. And if anyone's life is taken, and no one is arrested, that is a -- that is a big difference from when someone's life is taken and they swoop in, arrest right away, charged with the most severe charges right away, which is what happens in every other case where we know exactly who killed the person and we know how they were killed. That is the difference in those kinds of cases.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Alright -- Heather. Those are the two sides of the debate and you've laid them out and I appreciate that. Let's leave it to all of them now to feel where they are on it and we'll continue the conversation as it goes along.

HEATHER MAC DONALD, SENIOR FELLOW, MANHATTAN INSTITUTE: Thank you.

CUOMO: You know how to get us on social media. Those are the two sides. What do you think?

Alisyn?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Chris. Good conversation. Wait until you hear this story. A flight attendant refuses to give a Muslim woman a can of soda, allegedly saying it posed too big of a threat. We have the woman at the center of that controversy next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:35:13] CAMEROTA: Time now for the five things to know for your NEW DAY.

No. 1, hundreds feared dead after a river cruise capsizes in China. Crews searching for survivors, many of the victims still trapped inside. The ship's captain and chief engineer both in police custody.

The acting director of the Transportation Security Administration reassigned after an undercover probe reveals weapons and fake bombs making it past screeners 95 percent of the time. The Homeland Security Secretary now ordering screeners, procedures and equipment to be revised.

Honesty and trust issues plaguing Hillary Clinton's campaign. In a new CNN poll, 50 percent of voters say they have an unfavorable opinion of the Democratic presidential candidate.

Secretary of State John Kerry set to undergo surgery in a few hours after breaking his leg in a bike accident. Still, officials say Kerry called into a meeting of the anti-ISIS coalition earlier this morning.

Another round of severe storms and intense rain in the Northeast today. Flash flooding possible in major cities like New York and Boston. This, of course, coming after last week's deadly flooding in Texas.

For more on the five things to know, go to newdayCNN.com for the latest. And for more information on how you can help victims of the recent flooding, go to CNN.com/impact.

Chris?

CUOMO: An unopened can of soda. Do you see that as a threat to your safety on a plane? A Muslim women says that's why she was allegedly refused one. The real reason or something else? You will hear from her next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:40:57] CAMEROTA: A passenger on a United Airlines flight said she was denied a can of Diet Coke because the flight attendant told her it could be used as a weapon. But Tahera Ahmad claims the real reason is because she's Muslim.

Tahera Ahmad joins us now. She's an associate chaplain and director of interfaith engagement at Northwestern University. Tahera, thanks so much for being on NEW DAY.

TAHERA AHMAD, CLAIMS DISCRIMINATION ON UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT: Thank you for having me, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: On Friday, you were trying to fly on United from Chicago to Washing, D.C., you asked for a can of Diet Coke and what happened?

AHMAD: Thank you, Alisyn. Yes, I was on a flight from Chicago to DCA, you know, Washington, actually on a conference for Kids For Peace which is an organization that promotes dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian youth, and when we were in the air the flight attendant asked if I would like to drink something and I requested a can of diet soda and she brought me over an open can, so for hygienic reasons, I said is it OK if I have one that is closed? And she said, well, no one has consumed from this can. So I said I understand that, but I would really prefer one that was closed. So she said, well, we are unauthorized to give people open beverage cans, so no Diet Coke for you, and she took it away.

And then she asked the man next to me what he would like to drink and he requested a can of beer and I noticed that she placed it in front of him and it was a closed beverage can. So I asked him, I said that is strange she gave you one that was closed, but refuses to give me one. And he said yeah, I don't know why she did that.

So then when she came back, I asked her very nicely, I said, I don't know why you are refusing to give me a closed beverage can, and she said we are unauthorized to give people unopened beverage cans because they can use it as a weapon, and so I said, well, it's clear that you are discriminating against me because you gave him an unopened beverage can, and so she grabbed it immediately, opened it for him and, as she was putting it back, she said, well, it's because you would use it as a weapon. And I was really appalled.

CAMEROTA: She said to you directly, "because you would use it as a weapon?"

AHMAD: Yes. I was just, you know, very disturbed by that. I asked the passengers around me, I said, did anyone witness what she said to me? And I said, you know, how dare you say that I would use it as a weapon? And then a man sitting across from me said you are Muslim, you need to shut the F up. And I couldn't believe what he said, so I leaned over and he said, you know you would use it as a weapon, so you need to shut the F up.

CAMEROTA: Oh my gosh. And Tahera, I mean, at that moment, that's the moment where you just sat in sort of stunned silence, you were incredulous that this whole thing had happened and you sent out a post trying to capture your feelings. You sent out a Facebook post. What were your feelings at that moment?

AHMAD: It was a very unsafe space for me at that point. This man is yelling over and trying to silence me, you know, and I am woman sitting across from him, he is clearly very angry and saying bigoted things to me, and no one is intervening, there is no bystander intervention and the flight attendant didn't say anything to him either.

CAMEROTA: I just want to read to you what United Airlines says in their statement, which they made about this incident, and get your response to this. They say, "The flight attendant onboard Shuttle America flight 3504 attempted several times to accommodate Ms. Ahmad's beverage request after a misunderstanding regarding a can of diet soda. The inflight crew met with Ms. Ahmad after the flight arrived in Washington to provide assistance and further discuss the matter. Additionally, we spoke with Ms. Ahmad yesterday to get a better understanding of what occurred and to apologize for not delivering the service our customers expect when traveling with us."

Are you satisfied with this statement from them and what did they say to you on the ground when they approached you to discuss it?

AHMAD: You know, Alisyn, what is absolutely unfortunate about this is that United, as the major corporation, had the opportunity to really, you know, at a time when our country is very much in pain and a lot of minority groups are in a lot of pain because when discrimination and intolerance happens, the right thing to do is recognize that. [08:45:11] United really did not recognize that this was a very

unfortunate act of discrimination and bigotry and that they should have recognized it and stated corrective measures as to avoid this in the future with anyone, regardless of their faith, gender, socioeconomic background. This shouldn't happen. Really, this is not about a can of Diet Coke. This is about insuring that when people are traveling together they are not mistreating each other in public spaces, they are respecting each other.

CAMEROTA: Yes, of course. And let's hope that United has learned some sort of lesson here and that they will go further in their communication with you. But I have to say, the irony is beyond rich that you, of course, are the director of interfaith engagement to talk about these things and we just hope - Well, we know that you will now be using this episode as exhibit A in your conversations with people to try to heighten awareness.

Tahera Ahmad, thanks so much for coming in and explaining all of this to NEW DAY.

AHMAD: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

CAMEROTA: Pleasure to talk to you. Let's get over to Chris.

CUOMO: Boy, some of the things in that conversation really make you shake your head.

Alright, you've seen it. The big picture, the big cover on "Vanity Fair", Caitlyn Jenner unveiling herself to the world. What does this mean? Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? Does it matter? We discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:50:23] CUOMO: Alright. This is the big story. Caitlyn Jenner revealing herself for the first time on the cover of "Vanity Fair", smashing a record on Twitter. As soon as the account was started, it just blew up.

Let's discuss. We have transgender actress, star of the independent film, "Carl(a)," Joslyn Defreece, and Larry Hackett, former managing editor of "People" magazine, friend of show.

So, it's great to have you both here. From the media perspective, how big and why on this story?

LARRY HACKETT, FORMER MANAGING EDITOR, PEOPLE MAGAZINE: I think it's huge, I think it's great for magazines, I think it's just an incredible story, that picture is so glamorous. You're going to remember where you were when you saw her.

For many of us, you knew Bruce in the 1970s when, you know, he won the decathlon and then you saw what she did with Diane Sawyer. I think it's stunning, it's glamorous, it's just an incredible moment and I think it's someone that you knew. And to see this transformation, it's human nature to be curious about what happens. Not everyone gets their photograph taken by Annie Leibovitz, so I think it's just an absolutely fascinating notion about someone, fundamentally, people like.

CUOMO: Now, the question is what will it mean to the issue, right? That's a big reason that she wanted to come out, you know, first as Bruce and now as Caitlyn, and let people see it and understand what this was for her and her family and personally. What do you think it will mean?

JOSLYN DEFREECE, TANSGENDER ACTRESS: I think it's just really positive. I think it's bringing visibility to the movement and showing -- for Bruce -- excuse me, for Caitlyn --

CUOMO: You can make that mistake. It's okay.

(CROSSTALK)

DEFREECE: Yeah, but I think that the visibility that it's bringing is just, like, huge. And she is so relatable, you know, and that's what I think is the positive that it brings to the movement is that, you know, we are all walks of life.

CUOMO: Now, you introduced something to me, Joslyn, that I want you to repeat today. You said, yes, but that was Bruce Jenner, the money, the access, the acceptance that was built-in for him. So many who do this transition don't have any of that.

DEFREECE: Absolutely. No, I mean, that's - But again, that's what it's showing, a different walk of life. You know, there are so many different stories being told right now and this is just one of them. I think that everyone's story needs to be heard, everyone's journey needs to be heard, and this is something that for my parents' generation, this is huge. This is huge. It's showing that, you know, one of the biggest athletes, that she is, you know -- It's not just, you know, a new phenomenon. This has been existing for thousands and thousands of years.

HACKETT: Whether it was the end of the Vietnam War or whether it's gay marriage, studies have shown that when people know somebody affected by something, it fundamentally changes the way they think of this. I would eventually get to say just by sheer numbers, most people do not know someone transgender. Caitlyn Jenner is going to sit in for them. He is -- she is going to be the person they look at to see what this is about. And I think that is a double-edged sword.

Someone, as I said, who is incredibly likeable, who they've known for many years. Someone also, though, whose fame, for many of us has been on this show that a lot of people think is distasteful or freakish or does not represent ordinary life. That is the Kardashian show.

There has been a lot of criticism about the upcoming show that she is going to be making, is this going to be exploitative? She says no, this is going to be something where you explore the life that I now lead. There's always going to be people like that, there's always going to be conspiracy theorists who think, you know, she is doing this to get a show. That's part of the baggage that comes with this. But the fact of the matter is someone like us who is know in the telephonic, television sense is going to go on a journey and we're going to follow it.

CUOMO: And a lot of those same haters will also watch the show. Two more quick points I want to make in this segment. First one, I want to be an optimist about this. Two reasons for hope. One, the lingerie choice, the hair, the name with a C instead of a K, those are all getting a lot of wattage in this discussion. Isn't that a good sign, Larry, that people are kind of moving past the, hey, Bruce Jenner is now Caitlyn Jenner?

HACKETT: Absolutely. I think the way that this rolled out was absolutely genius. To the Diane Sawyer show two months ago, bye-bye to Bruce, and then to reemerge as Caitlyn like this, I think is absolutely genius. And yes, the discussion, some of it is frivolous and silly, but it shows a comfort that people are now having to discuss the lingerie choices on the cover of a magazine of someone who is transgender. That's progress.

CUOMO: And you know, in the rollout, you were right to notice that. Doing it with Diane Sawyer, probably the best mind at understating complex things and telling the story out of it, was smart.

The next sign, your movie, that it's not just a movie about being transgender, you are transgender in a movie about it and while it's not your story, you bring things to this role that a regular actor would not.

DEFREECE: Yeah, I think - You know, absolutely. I related a lot to the character that I played, I thought it was an important story being told and I just -- I think that it's something that is changing and bringing a conversation to everything that is going on right now. It's just rapidly, rapidly changing. It's not the world that I came out in ten years ago.

[08:55:18] HACKETT: One last thing. Whether it was Diane Sawyer or the interview with "Vanity Fair",, what strikes me is how plain spoken Caitlyn is. This is not therapy speak, it's not complicated. This is someone who speaks in a very matter-of-fact way and the pain and the seriousness of the decisions, not self-pitying, but in a way that is very matter-of-fact. If I did not do this, you know, I could not go on. If I was on my deathbed and hadn't done it, I would have wasted my life. These are very powerful, simple words that people can relate to.

CUOMO: We will see where it leads us. Joslyn, thank you very much. Larry, as always.

DEFREECE: Thank you.

CUOMO: More good stuff coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: The "Good Stuff" up in Canada. There is a guy up there, he's giving away his house. He lived there his whole life, his children grew up there, the whole deal. Jean Como (ph) - kind of my French cousin, Como, Cuomo -

CAMEROTA: Oh, you're right.

CUOMO: He is getting up in years, he doesn't want to deal with the two stories anymore, the stories, the stairs. So instead of sell the house or demolish, he is giving it away to a family completely free.

[09:00:01] Hundreds of people responded. In the end, Jean (ph) says he picked a family that was worthy because their story touched him.

CAMEROTA: That's beautiful. Good for him.

CUOMO: They're literally taking the house and moving it away.

CAMEROTA: Alright. Let's get to Carol Costello and "NEWSROOM". Have a great day, Carol.