13 Reasons Why star Tommy Dorfman confronts airline staff after claiming she was 'intentionally misgendered'

Tommy Dorfman has alleged that Delta Air Lines staff misgendered her while she was at the airport and shared a video of the confrontation.

The 31-year-old, who played Ryan Shaver in Netflix's 13 Reasons Why, came out as transgender in 2021 and uses she/her pronouns.

An argument Dorfman had at the LaGuardia Airport in New York days before Christmas went viral on her TikTok page and started a tense debate online.

In the clip, the actor films Delta Air Lines staff and claims that they have been intentionally misgendering her.

"When you try to advocate for yourself at @delta and are met woth even more transpbobia and threats of being arrested at LaGuardia [SIC]," Dorfman said in the post.

"... The employee, said he was fine with me posting this. Didn't realize it was condescending to flag a human rights violation after another employee misgendered me incessantly,” she added.

TikTok/@tommy.dorfman

As Dorfman attempts to speak with staff and tries to address the issue, she gets told she is being condescending and is warned that she could be escorted out of the building.

"Would you like to continue three days before Christmas? I really don't mind," the staff member adds.

The video then cuts off.

A Delta spokesperson spoke to Newsweek about the incident and said: "We're aware of the video and looking into the matter, including reaching out to our customer to understand more about what occurred."

Many have taken to social media to share their thoughts after the video went viral.

“We know customers aren’t always right Delta Airlines, but the answer is not to misgender them, just as it happened to Tommy Dorfman. We don’t know what started the altercation, but if someone asks you to call them she/her, you should do it,” one supporter said.

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Another wrote: “Delta Air Lines, we need to talk. Misgendering a fierce queen like Tommy Dorfman is a no-no."

While someone else commented: “It’s dehumanizing to misgender someone on purpose."

However, others felt the airport staff simply made a mistake in the situation.

“Do we have proof it was intentional cause accidental happens all the time even cis ppl get misgendered by accident,” one user penned.

UNILAD has contacted Delta Air Lines for comment.

Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV, Travel, LGBTQ

Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard is a Journalist at UNILAD and has dived headfirst into covering everything from breaking global stories to trending entertainment news. He has a bachelors in English Literature from Brunel University and has written across a number of different national and international publications. Most notably the Financial Times, Daily Express, Evening Standard and Newsweek.