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From this mornings Chicago Tribune
Pinup, actress and now author Raquel Welch spoke with us Wednesday from her Los Angeles office about her much-publicized pat-down last week by Transportation Security Administration agents at O'Hare. Welch had been in town for an appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to promote her forthcoming book, "Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage" (Weinstein Books, April 1, $26.95), and was returning to LA when the incident occurred.
The 69-year-old Welch said TSA agents stopped her after the metal supports in her Dolce & Gabbana bustier set off the airport metal detectors, a bit of humor clearly not lost on her, given the title of her book. A TSA official confirmed that Welch did set off the metal detectors, and with those full-body scanners not yet in place, the buxom actress says nearby passengers got quite a show.
Q: So, what exactly happened at O'Hare?
A: They pulled me aside and said, "You're going to have to have a body search." Then they proceeded to bring me into the glass booth and they said, "You'll have to wait a moment, because there are no women available." I said, "Just go ahead. You can have a man do it." They said, "Oh, no, no, no. That's not the way it's done."
Q: What do you think they were looking for?
A: An explosive device, I guess. I don't think explosive undergarments, just something explosive. It's all just so funny because it's all double-entendre. … It was just such a strange coincidence. They seemed to want to know very much what was beyond my cleavage.
Q: I think of Raquel Welch being patted down at the airport, and I think, this does make America a safer place.
A: Certainly handier, I'll say that.
Q: What exactly does this say about the state of airline security in America?
A: I'm very appreciative of the job they do. They're very serious-minded about it and very meticulous to explain everything and to make sure that they're not offending anyone. I really do appreciate that.
Q: So, just to be perfectly clear, you have never worn exploding undergarments of any kind?
A: I've never worn any exploding undergarments. … I thought about calling Dolce & Gabbana and saying … "Why don't you use titanium stays through all of the bustiers" … but then I thought, well, there might be a lot of hunky young guys doing the inspection. Maybe I'll just stick with the one I've got.
Pinup, actress and now author Raquel Welch spoke with us Wednesday from her Los Angeles office about her much-publicized pat-down last week by Transportation Security Administration agents at O'Hare. Welch had been in town for an appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to promote her forthcoming book, "Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage" (Weinstein Books, April 1, $26.95), and was returning to LA when the incident occurred.
The 69-year-old Welch said TSA agents stopped her after the metal supports in her Dolce & Gabbana bustier set off the airport metal detectors, a bit of humor clearly not lost on her, given the title of her book. A TSA official confirmed that Welch did set off the metal detectors, and with those full-body scanners not yet in place, the buxom actress says nearby passengers got quite a show.
Q: So, what exactly happened at O'Hare?
A: They pulled me aside and said, "You're going to have to have a body search." Then they proceeded to bring me into the glass booth and they said, "You'll have to wait a moment, because there are no women available." I said, "Just go ahead. You can have a man do it." They said, "Oh, no, no, no. That's not the way it's done."
Q: What do you think they were looking for?
A: An explosive device, I guess. I don't think explosive undergarments, just something explosive. It's all just so funny because it's all double-entendre. … It was just such a strange coincidence. They seemed to want to know very much what was beyond my cleavage.
Q: I think of Raquel Welch being patted down at the airport, and I think, this does make America a safer place.
A: Certainly handier, I'll say that.
Q: What exactly does this say about the state of airline security in America?
A: I'm very appreciative of the job they do. They're very serious-minded about it and very meticulous to explain everything and to make sure that they're not offending anyone. I really do appreciate that.
Q: So, just to be perfectly clear, you have never worn exploding undergarments of any kind?
A: I've never worn any exploding undergarments. … I thought about calling Dolce & Gabbana and saying … "Why don't you use titanium stays through all of the bustiers" … but then I thought, well, there might be a lot of hunky young guys doing the inspection. Maybe I'll just stick with the one I've got.
But I feel safer flying now after reading that.
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