Qantas apologizes for playing sexually explicit film in cabin: ‘Technical issues’

A commercial airline apologized this week after a sexually explicit film played on all cabin screens on an international flight to Asia.

The incident occurred last week on a more than 9 1/2-hour flight from Sydney to Haneda Airport in Tokyo, a Qantas spokesman told USA TODAY on Tuesday.

“Technical issues with the in-flight entertainment” meant that individual film selection was not possible, so “at the request of several passengers,” a film was quickly selected for the entire flight, the Australian airline spokesman said.

The film starred: “Daddio” – a film starring actress Dakota Johnson and actor Sean Penn, rated R for profanity, sexual material and graphic nudity.

“The movie they played was extremely inappropriate,” a QF59 passenger wrote on Reddit. “It was impossible to pause, dim or turn off the film… It took them almost an hour to switch to a more kid-friendly film, but it was super uncomfortable for everyone, especially with families and children on board.”

One reader responded: “This is actually crazy. When you look at the list of films available, you will certainly choose the film that is the least offensive. For example, “Finding Nemo” or “Despicable Me.” How do you choose a film aimed at an adult audience?”

When the crew learned the film wasn’t suitable for everyone, the airline tried to fix the screens for customers who didn’t want to see it, she reported.

“After it became clear that this was not possible, the flight was turned into a children’s film,” the spokesman said. “Our cabin crew apologized to the passengers on board, particularly those who complained about the contents.”

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‘Clearly not suitable’: The airline said it was investigating how the film was played

The spokesman said the airline was investigating “how the film was selected.”

“The film was clearly not suitable for viewing throughout the flight and we sincerely apologize to customers for this experience,” the spokesperson said.

The airline official said the customer team will be in touch with customers.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Qantas airline apologizes for showing sexually explicit film ‘Daddio’