Russell Crowe wants to fly with "segway boards," and damn the rules.
On Tuesday, the Gladiator actor tweeted he'd abandoned a Virgin Australia flight after being informed the boards would not be allowed as luggage.
Ridiculous @VirginAustralia. No Segway boards as luggage? Too late to tell us at airport.Kids and I offloaded. Goodbye Virgin. Never again.— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) December 29, 2015
By "Segway boards," we can only assume Crowe was referring to hoverboards -- the toys that have been the 2015 holiday season's hottest gift, in more ways than one. Most importantly, they just won't stop exploding without warning.
The toy's volatility -- often ascribed to ill-made lithium-ion batteries in certain brands -- has caused them to be banned by many airlines. Virgin's international airlines have joined Delta and JetBlue, among others, in keeping the items out of checked luggage.
The poor sod who handles Virgin Australia's Twitter account tried to explain the situation to the irritated parent
@russellcrowe Hi Russell, due to safety concerns over the lithium ion batteries in hoverboards, these have been banned on all major... 1/3— Virgin Australia (@VirginAustralia) December 29, 2015
@russellcrowe ...Australian airlines and many around the world. We're sorry you were not aware of this prior to check-in today. We... 2/3— Virgin Australia (@VirginAustralia) December 29, 2015
@russellcrowe ...hope to see you on board again soon. 3/3— Virgin Australia (@VirginAustralia) December 29, 2015
But 'ol Maximus wouldn't have a bar of it
@VirginAustralia why did you not inform me when I booked my ticket? Where is your duty of responsibility in this?— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) December 29, 2015
Crowe really should be thanking Virgin Australia -- hasn't he seen all those videos of dads trying their kids' hoverboards and absolutely wrecking themselves?
My dad got a hoverboard for Christmas pic.twitter.com/V1xw4a6FD1— IG - OfficialDJDez (@DJDez) December 25, 2015
Virgin Australia and Russell Crowe's team have been contacted for further comment.