Brazilian singer, Dudu Nobre is suing American Airlines along with his wife and producer. They are seeking $4 million over an incident that they claim took place between them and flight attendant’s on American Airlines flight.

Dudu and his wife are claiming that flight attendants were verbally assaulting him and his wife with racial slurs. At some point in the incident, it is claimed that the singer’s producer was stabbed with a sharp pen.

Dudu Nobre, who is black, says that an American Airlines flight attendant called him a “monkey” in portugese, then went on to make monkey like noises at him. It was in the ensuing argument that the producer supposedly got stabbed by a pen.

So far, American Airlines has declined to comment on the incident.  Witnesses have come forward with conflicting stories. The lawsuit will proceed in coming months if no settlement is reached.

This story has come at a difficult time for American Airlines as it is struggling to maintain investor confidence and sell enough to tickets to stay out of the red. Efforts will be made to avoid bad press, but it is unlikely that American Airlines will be quick to settle unless it is forced to wholeheartedly admit the guilt of its flight attendants.