Woman forced to remove nipple ring at airport

A woman who was forced to remove her nipple rings with pliers before boarding a flight in Texas, has demanded an apology and said she wants the US government to investigate the incident.

Mandi Hamlin, a 37-year-old graphic artist from Dallas, said: 'It was just total humiliation in front of people I had no earthly idea who they were.'

Gloria Allred, Ms Hamlin's attorney, said the woman was given a pair of pliers in order to remove the rings in her nipples. She added that the rings had been in her nipples for many years.

Ms Hamlin said she wanted a public apology and for the US Transportation Security Administration to investigate the incident, which happened in February as she was boarding a flight from Lubbock in Texas, to Dallas.

TSA spokesman Dwayne Baird said he was unaware of the nipple ring incident.

He said: 'I'd be really curious to know what this woman had in her nipples,' adding that he had 'never heard of any of our people having anyone remove something that sounds as small as a nipple ring.'

Ms Allred said the TSA's measure was 'cruel and unnecessary.'

She said: 'The last time that I checked, a nipple was not a dangerous weapon.'