On August 4, a video clip went viral on Instagram. The video showed a passenger being approached by a flight attendant on American Airlines while using the restroom. The passenger was caught vaping, which is against airline policy. The flight attendant dealt with the passenger and the situation at hand. Although there is some debate on how it was handled. While many online are on the side of the flight attendant, the vaping passenger argues that his rights were "violated" following the viral incident on the plane.
The Viral Incident In Question
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The vaping passenger goes by @kobe.pickleball on Instagram. On August 4, he posted the now viral video of the encounter between himself and an American Airlines flight attendant. In the video, he claims that the flight attendant forcibly entered the restroom while he was "actually sitting on the toilet." The woman supposedly opened the door because she learned that the passenger was vaping inside the bathroom, which is against airline policy.
While the pickleball coach did apologize, halfheartedly, for vaping in the restroom, he was more focused on the flight attendant's actions than his own. The flight attendant was unimpressed and continued to share her frustration over his actions, claiming she cared about the rest of the passengers' safety on board. Once she saw that he was recording, she reached forward in an attempt to snatch the phone from the passenger's hands. From there, the situation escalated.
After that moment, the passenger claimed that the attendant put her hands on him. From there, the threats began. "I have a lawyer," the passenger claimed. "I am a lawyer!" he continued. From there, the flight attendants pointed out to him that, as a lawyer, he should know better than to smoke on a plane, but he basically ignored them. Instead, he focused solely on the fact that one flight attendant supposedly put her hands on him. He even went as far as to threaten calling the police when he landed and to share the clip with his "25,000 followers."
Despite The Internet's Disagreement, The Vaping Passenger Still Argues His Rights Were Violated
I don't think the sharing of the clip went the way this guy intended. The vaping passenger, Peter "Kobe" Nguyen, believed that his rights were violated. He felt this so fully that he doubled down on this opinion, despite the majority of the internet disagreeing. Here are some of the comments left on the original video.
"So... you were breaking the law & instead of taking accountability you just berated a woman doing her job?"
"I have a lawyer. I AM a lawyer" lmao. No, dude, you play pickleball."
"Be accountable for your actions instead of trying to play the victim. If you seriously cannot comprehend that you were wrong, go see a therapist."
Rather than read those comments and do some self-reflection, Peter doubled down on his victimhood. He shared another post on August 10, sharing the so-called horrible experience. In his caption, he wrote the following.
"While flying on American Airlines Flight 2860, my privacy and dignity were violated in ways that left me shaken, humiliated, and hurt. I'm sharing this because I believe no passenger should ever go through this."
Also, he claimed that the incident affected his "mental health, work, and ability to trust the systems that are meant to keep us safe." From there, rather than acknowledging the comments on the viral video, he again chose to flaunt his own supposed status. Claiming that he is a "CEO, non-profit founder and Hollywood producer" and that this entire experience has caused "reputational harm" that has been "devastating" to his career.
The pickleball coach created this post in response to being told to delete the footage while boarding another flight. Rather than taking any accountability, the social media star had this to say.
"I have issued a formal demand for accountability and am giving the airline 7 days to respond. I'm also making my story available to the media."
