Richard Branson, the billionaire owner of Virgin Atlantic, will no longer be “turning girls upside down” on his airplanes.
The 72-year-old British tycoon said this week he is putting an end to his famous promotional stunt of holding scantily-clad women in acrobatic positions on the wings of his planes, an act that has starred models such as Pamela Anderson, Kate Moss, and Dita Von Teese.
“There’s no question that in the early days of Virgin, society was very different,” Branson said. “I doubt you’ll see me turning girls upside down or picking up ladies today, whereas 38 years ago if I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t get in a newspaper.”
Branson emphasized that he still physically could perform his acrobatic stunts of old if he wanted to, but won’t for the sake of good taste.
“I can still turn girls upside down, but times have moved on,” he said
Branson made the comments following his arrival at Tampa International Airport on Wednesday to promote his airline’s new nonstop flights from Tampa to London Heathrow. He was seen sporting a Tampa Bay Buccaneers jersey as he departed his plane onto the Tampa tarmac, with both male and female flight attendants by his side.
As part of his promotional festivities, Branson jet-skied across the city’s bay. He told onlookers that once upon a time, he would have someone behind him, referencing a 2010 stunt that saw Branson jet ski with a female flight attendant on a Vegas Strip waterway to celebrate Virgin’s 10th anniversary of flying to Las Vegas.
“You just adapt with the times,” he said. “And I might soon be getting to an age where I might pull a disc.”
The last time Branson was seen in one of his famous wingtop-photoshoots was in 2012, when he inverted a female model wearing a bikini and a Russian hat to promote flights to Moscow.
Branson’s risque approach to marketing has tamed in recent years, along with Virgin’s own workplace conduct.
The airline abolished its requirement for female flight attendants to wear makeup in 2019, and in September, Virgin announced that cabin crew could wear whatever uniforms they wish regardless of gender.
A Virgin spokesperson told The Guardian that employment applications have soared since the company began promoting a more inclusive workspace.