KLM bans pianist who allegedly praised shooting down MH17

Airline KLM is removing music by Ukrainian-American pianist Valentina Lisitsa from the in-flight entertainment program following a complaint from a passenger stating that the pianists supports Ukrainian separatists and "celebrates terrorists responsible for taking down MH17". A spokesperson for the airline confirmed this decision to the Volkskrant. "We were informed through social media that Lisitsa has expressed sympathy for the attack on MH17", the spokesperson said to the newspaper. "That is horrible. We are now removing her music from all flights." KLM investigated Lisitsa's statements after receiving the complaint. The complaint comes from an action group that opposes the pianist. According to classical music news site Slipped Disc, the complaint states that Lisitsa calls Ukranians "dog shit", "pigs" and "nazis" in her "heinous tweets" and "celebrates terrorists responsible for taking down MH17" The KLM spokesperson could not say exactly when the music will no longer be featured in the in-flight entertainment. Removing it "happens in phases and may take a while".