United's Latest Controversy: Giant Rabbit Dies on Flight in 'Strange' Circumstances

In the latest controversy to plague United Airlines, a giant rabbit being transported on one of its planes died in the cargo hold while traveling on a flight from London’s Heathrow airport to Chicago’s O’Hare — the same airport where a United passenger was violently dragged off of an overbooked flight earlier this month.

Multiple media reports out of the UK say the 10 month-old giant rabbit was being delivered to a new “celebrity” owner. According to The Sun newspaper, the animal, named Simon, was the son of the world’s largest rabbit — a 1.3m-long continental giant rabbit called Darius — and was expected to have grown larger than his father.

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Owner Annette Edwards, and former Playboy model, told the paper: “Simon had a vet’s check-up three hours before the flight and was fit as a fiddle.”

“Something very strange has happened and I want to know what. I’ve sent rabbits all around the world and nothing like this has happened before.”

In a statement provided to the BBC, United said: “We were saddened to hear this news. The safety and well-being of all the animals that travel with us is of the utmost importance to United Airlines and our PetSafe team. We have been in contact with our customer and have offered assistance. We are reviewing this matter.”

As the BBC reports, animals dying while being transported on planes is rare but not unheard of. U.S, Department of Transportation figures show that in 2015, the most recent data available, US airlines reported 35 animal deaths. Of those deaths, a whopping 14 were on United flights.

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United has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons over the past two months.

The forcible removal of passenger Dr. David Dao from an overbooked flight caused outrage and widespread condemnation after footage of the incident was shared online. He lost two front teeth and suffered a broken nose.

In late March, the airline was heavily criticized on social media after two girls were reportedly barred from flying for wearing leggings on a flight from Denver to Minneapolis. United defended its actions, saying the passengers were traveling on a employee and guest pass, which enforces a dress code.

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United Airlines went viral in the worst way possible when video of a man being wrestled off one of its flights hit the internet. The man, a doctor who needed to return home for his shift at a hospital, was forcibly removed from a plane because a crew member needed his seat. Video showed security dragging the man being off the plane by his arms with blood on his face.
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United's latest public relations nightmare was preceded by an incident last month in which two teenagers were barred from boarding their flight because they were wearing leggings.
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Within minutes of Pepsi unveiling a new ad starring Kendall Jenner, social media users almost unanimously came down against it, calling the protest-themed commercial tone deaf and opportunistic. The ad, which depicted Jenner resolving the tension at a protest scene with a can of Pepsi, was pulled after a day and the company issued an apology.
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In 2015, Starbucks had its own PR disaster with its "race together" campaign, which sought to help heal race relations in America through coffee cup stickers, and not much else. Critics slammed the campaign, which began in response to a series police shootings, as a cheap marketing ploy.
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Bloomingdales ran a print ad in 2015 encouraging readers to "spike your best friend's eggnog when they're not looking." With the accompanying photo of a man looking at a distracted woman, some accused the ad of contributing rape culture by encouraging people to shirk consent.
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Budweiser found itself in a similar position when customers noticed that some Bud Light cans featured the quote “The perfect beer for removing ‘no’ from your vocabulary for the night.” One of 140 slogans printed on the cans as part of the “Up for Whatever” campaign, the quote nonetheless drew the ire of those who said the company was encouraging rape.
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The skincare company Nivea took some heat on social media after it debuted an ad featuring the phrase "white is purity," which some accused of supporting white supremacy. The ad also included a picture of a woman and the caption "Keep it clean, keep it bright. Don't let anything ruin it."
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Samsung began selling its Galaxy Note 7 phones in August 2016, and by September, it had suspended sales of the phone due to reports that they were catching fire during charging. After issuing replacement phones only to find that those phones were also catching fire, the company officially recalled the product on Sept. 15. In October, it issued a software update to brick the model entirely.
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Wells Fargo is currently amid its own PR disaster after it came to light that employees were creating thousands of fraudulent accounts to meet unrealistic sales goals. As many of 5,300 employees were fired as a result, and the company has since clawed back $180 million from two former executives.
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When President Trump signed the first version of his Muslim travel ban in February and taxis briefly withheld service from airports in protest, Uber announced it would be lowering its own prices. The action led to a mass boycott of the ride sharing service and the hashtag #DeleteUber.
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Chick-fil-A's history of anti-LGBT activism came to light after the company's CEO Dan Cathy admitted to opposing same-sex marriage in 2012. Amid increasing public outcry, the company eventually vowed to stop donating to anti-LGBT causes.
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From United Airlines violently removing a passenger to Pepsi, Starbucks and Chick-fil-A’s public faux pas

United Airlines went viral in the worst way possible when video of a man being wrestled off one of its flights hit the internet. The man, a doctor who needed to return home for his shift at a hospital, was forcibly removed from a plane because a crew member needed his seat. Video showed security dragging the man being off the plane by his arms with blood on his face.

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11 Companies That Created Their Own PR Nightmares (Photos)

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