A transgender United Airlines flight attendant celebrated after she appeared in a 2020 company Trans Day of Visibility commercial has died at age 25 by suicide in her Colorado home, authorities confirmed Friday.
Police found the body of Kayleigh Scott in the house where she was living in Englewood, south of Denver, early Monday, Arapahoe County Coroner senior medical investigator Shannon Sanamo said. She committed suicide, Sanamo said.
Scott in 2021 emerged as a high-profile transgender activist.
A final post on her Facebook page referred to taking “final breaths,” apologized “to everyone I let down” and declared: “To those that I love, I am sorry I could not be stronger.” The post also addressed “Brianna,” apparently a reference to the transgender British teenager Brianna Ghey, who in February was murdered in a case under investigation as a hate crime.
In the United Airlines commercial titled “United – Kayleigh’s Story,” Scott declared “I am trans and I am proud” and said she was telling her story publicly “not for me but for those out there who are still fighting social norms.” She said, in the commercial, that “my life changed for the better when I came to United as a flight attendant.” She credited loving coworkers for helping her “break free” and said she was “living confidently as my true self.”
Originally from Vermont, Scott enjoyed mountain climbing and skiing in Colorado during her off-hours — often posting selfies taken during those activities on Facebook.
But her social media posts also suggested she was wrestling with troubles. A Dec. 31 Facebook posting said “2022 has been a year packed with upset and difficulty” and that “I came to realize I work a meaningless job for a company that doesn’t value me as an employee.” She also wrote that “I had my heart destroyed” and that she “lost my nice little home and had to downsize significantly and start over. I’m really struggling to find happiness and hope. I’m begging 2023 to be better to me. Please.”
A July 16 post lamented the death of her father.
United Airlines spokeswoman Erin Jankowski issued a company statement that read, “We are incredibly saddened by the tragic loss of Kayleigh Scott and extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends and coworkers.”
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