US airline slammed for downgrading K-pop star from first class to economy without refund

K-pop star Hyeri said Delta Air Lines told her she could either take the economy seat or the next flight out of Los Angeles. Photo: Hyeri/Instagram

US carrier Delta Air Lines is being skewered online after it downgraded, without even refunding, South Korean actor and K-pop star Hyeri from first class to economy.

Hyeri, a member of the K-pop band Girl’s Day, described her experience in an Instagram post on Thursday as “absurd”, and many of those who reacted to it called Delta out for supposedly singling her out for a downgrade because she is Asian.