The feisty Southwest Airlines passenger accused of attacking a woman during a ‘drunken’ outburst smiled as she arrived at the courthouse with a $1,070 designer handbag.
Leanna Perry, 32, strolled up to Queens County Criminal Court on Wednesday morning in her first appearance since she was seen viciously body-shaming and spitting on fellow passenger Livia Rombola onboard a flight at LaGuardia Airport on June 16.
However, despite facing serious assault charges, the Brooklyn-based artist happily donned a white maxi dress, $1,750 black Prada combat boots, a headband with silver stars and a Vivienne Westwood purse during her court appearance.
She even appeared chipper as she made her way through security and to the courtroom, but when approached by the Daily Mail, Perry shoved her hand in a reporter’s face and said: ‘Stay away, sorry’.
Perry’s court appearance came just days after Rombola filed a lawsuit claiming the artist not only physically assaulted her but also caused her to suffer emotional distress and psychological trauma.
In the complaint, Rombola claimed the ‘repeated exposure’ of the incident, due to the viral recordings of the attack, caused her additional distress.
Rombola’s recent filing also named Southwest Airlines as a defendant, and argued the airline’s unassigned seating policy was a ‘a clear departure from the industry standards of other airlines’ that ‘created a foreseeable hazard of passenger conflict’.
Perry, who has worked with many well-known brands including Maybelline, Adidas, MAC, Hot Topic and Shein, pleaded not guilty. She is due back in court on November 5.
Perry, the 32-year-old Brooklyn-based artist accused of attacking a fellow Southwest Airlines passenger on June 16, appeared in court Wednesday morning. She wore a white maxi dress, $1,750 black Prada combat boots and a black $1,070 Vivienne Westwood handbag
The clip, which showed Perry spitting on, body-shaming and pulling the hair of Livia Rombola, quickly went viral online
Perry walks in the courthouse with her lawyer on Wednesday morning
The prosecution said they are still mulling over what kind of treatment they want Perry to participate in – either substance abuse or mental health courses.
On her way out of the courtroom, Perry made no attempt to hide her name or the date of her next court appearance, even using the Court Action Sheet to shield her eyes. Her lawyer covered his face with folders.
The now-viral clips of Perry cursing, slurring her words, kicking, screaming and calling Rombola ‘fat’ quickly took over the internet, landed her in custody and got her kicked off the flight headed for Kansas City in her home state of Missouri.
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In the clip, Perry donned a red baseball hat and an otherwise all-black outfit while she appeared to get verbally confrontational with Rombola just moments before things turned physical.
Perry was then seen gripping the other woman’s hair and screaming, ‘Shut the f*** up, don’t f***ing touch me!’
Several people stepped in, including two Southwest employees and another passenger, seemingly trying to de-escalate the situation.
A female employee then called another staff member on the phone and repeatedly asked the woman to let go of the other passenger’s hair, but she refused and flashed a cunning smile.
‘I’m not even touching her hair b****,’ Perry replied while she hung on to the woman and grinned.
After asking other staff to notify police of the incident, she shouted, ‘911!’ as passengers held her arms behind her back as they waited for help from officials.
She broke free and managed to grab Rombola’s hair again. This time, she yelled: ‘Yeah, I’m sorry! I didn’t want to sit next to a f***ing fat lady.’
As people continued trying to get Perry to let go, she shouted: ‘You guys are already past the point of no return. You’re already past the point of no return!’
While she exited the Queens courtroom, Perry attempted to shield her face with a sheet of paper. Her lawyer did the same with folders
Perry, who has worked with many well-known brands including Maybelline, Adidas, MAC, Hot Topic and Shein, pleaded not guilty. She is due back in court on November 5
Once she finally released her, a Southwest flight attendant placed her hands behind her back and secured wrist restraints.
‘Look at this fat lady. Look at this fat a** b****. She can’t even, look, you can’t even see her stomach,’ she continued to say as Rombola sat in front of her.
‘It’s horrible. Look at her outfit,’ she added. ‘Look at this fat a** b****. Hilarious. You can’t even show your mouth because you’re embarrassed,’ she went on, referring to Rombola wearing a face mask.
The rowdy passenger then looked toward a man, also wearing a face mask, who was sitting next to the woman she repeatedly harassed.
Perry appeared upbeat and happy during most of her court appearance, but when approached by the Daily Mail, she shoved her hand in a reporter’s face and said, ‘Stay away, sorry’
She screamed: ‘Shut the f*** up!… Sorry, I can’t hear you ugly a** f***ing dude who’s never gonna get laid again.’
Her comments intensified as she shouted at a man trying to help employees restrain her.
‘Oh, I’m sorry, black guy! My boyfriend’s black so shut the f*** up. My boyfriend’s f***ing a black guy, my boyfriend’s a black, my boyfriend’s black, my boyfriend’s a f***ing black guy,’ she said as she appeared to slur her words and stumble.
She then picked her head up and spat directly at Rombola, getting saliva all over her face.
Those holding her back then tried to move her away as one employee appeared to use Perry’s hair as a way to shield her spit.
‘Miss, please, we’re not doing all that. We’re not doing all that,’ the staffer said as Perry replied, ‘Shut the f*** up!’
She continued to throw around profanities and talk poorly about the woman and the man sitting next to her.
Perry is seen with Scottish TV personality Sebastian Melrose in September 2024 in Brooklyn, New York
Perry (center) attends fashion and art events in the New York scene
‘Ugly a** b****… You never got laid in your life. Your boyfriend’s d*** is like two inches big – that’s embarrassing,’ she said.
‘Oh, so sorry about your boyfriend. That’s horrible. That’s horrible.’
Before being escorted off the plane, Perry fell to the ground, face planted in the aisle and started screaming, ‘I can’t breathe.’
A Southwest Airlines spokesman told the Daily Mail Perry was not allowed back on the flight after she was removed.
‘We commend our Team for their professionalism during the incident,’ they added.