Airline apologizes for showing R-rated film on every screen during flight

The 2023 movie 'Daddio,' starring Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn, was screened for all passengers, despite sex and nudity in the film.

Australian airline Qantas has apologized to passengers after an R-rated movie was broadcast to every in-flight entertainment screen during a trip from Sydney to Tokyo.

Travellers on board the plane Saturday were told technical difficulties meant individual movie selection was not available for the international flight.

Crew members took requests from flyers for one movie selection to play across all of the passenger screens, and eventually selected the Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn-led film Daddio. 

The movie, released in 2023, is rated R for adult language. sex and nudity, and includes a scene where photos of a woman’s breasts and a prosthetic penis are shown on a phone screen. The film takes place almost exclusively during a taxi ride and sees its stars discuss important relationships in their characters’ lives.

Individual screens could not be paused, dimmed or turned off by passengers.

In a statement, a Qantas spokesperson expressed regret over the film choice.

“The movie was clearly not suitable to play for the whole flight and we sincerely apologize to customers for this experience,” Qantas said. “All screens were changed to a family friendly movie for the rest of the flight, which is our standard practice for the rare cases where individual movie selection isn’t possible.”

Qantas said it is reviewing the incident. It is unclear if the crew members were aware the film was rated R before it was screened.