Woman Told To Remove Nipple Rings For SoCal Flight

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― A woman was forced by the Transportation Security Administration to remove her nipple rings before she was allowed to board a flight, an attorney said on Thursday.

"The woman was given a pair of pliers in order to remove the rings in her nipples," said Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred. "The rings had been in her nipples for many years." Allred and the woman planned to hold an early-afternoon news conference in Los Angeles to explain what they plan to do "to ensure that no other person is forced to suffer" the same fate, the attorney said in a statement.

The Transportation Security Administration does not have a specific policy addressing nipple rings or any other jewelry, said TSA spokesman Dwayne Baird. Baird said he did not know of the incident Allred mentioned in her statement. "I'd be really curious to know what this woman had in her nipples," Baird said. "Sometimes they have a chain between their nipples, or a chain between their nipples and their belly button. It would have to be made of heavy metal to be detected."

Transportation Security employees are required to check anything that raises concerns at checkpoints, Baird said. "No matter what it is, if it's something that unduly alarms people or sets off the sensors they must check it," Baird said. "But I've never heard of any of our people having anyone remove something that sounds as small as a nipple ring."

Allred said that several years ago, celebrity Nicole Richie had her breasts inspected by security at an airport because of her nipple rings. Baird said he was not aware of the Richie incident either.