What an airhead.
Peter “Kobe” Nguyen, the American Airlines passenger who got into a viral altercation with a flight attendant who caught him vaping in-flight, has reportedly doubled down on his position.
“Something happened to me that I never imagined I’d have to go through — especially on a commercial airline,” the self-proclaimed “celebrity pickleball coach” declared in a viral Instagram post on August 9. “While flying on American Airlines Flight 2860, my privacy and dignity were violated in ways that left me shaken, humiliated, and hurt.”
The post was somewhat cryptically captioned, “I can’t delete this, it’s already on the internet.”
Nguyen was referring to an altercation that occurred on Aug. 4 aboard a flight from Phoenix to San Francisco after an unnamed AA air hostess busted the passenger allegedly smoking an e-cigarette in the lavatory, which is both a federal offense and a violation of airline policy.
In the viral clip, filmed by the vaper in the aftermath of him getting busted, Nguyen accuses the perplexed crew member of opening the bathroom door while he was inside.
Upon spotting him filming her, the flight attendant attempts to snatch his phone away, prompting the aghast pickleballer to accuse the flight attendant of assault.
“She put her hands on me,” yells the flyer, before bizarrely declaring that he’s a lawyer — a claim he later walked back in an interview with Inside Edition.
At one point, Nguyen threatens to sic his social media fans on her, declaring that he’d release the video for his 25,000 Instagram followers if she didn’t “say sorry” immediately.
He was reportedly removed from the aircraft by San Francisco police upon arrival.
Despite getting ripped by online viewers, who labeled the Instagrammer an “insufferable pos” who deserved to be put on the “no-fly list,” the unapologetic passenger refused to backpedal.
In the aforementioned Insta post, Nguyen claimed that the midair tiff impacted his mental health, work, and “ability to trust the very systems meant to keep us safe.”
“I’m not just a CEO and nonprofit founder — I’m also a Hollywood producer,” he declared. “The reputational harm from this incident has been devastating to my career.”
Nguyen added that he’d formally taken the matter to “American Airlines’ legal department,” writing, “My goal is not only accountability, but to make sure this never happens to anyone else. I will fight for justice, privacy, and dignity for every passenger.”
Interestingly, the post seemed like a complete 180 from the apologetic sentiments he expressed earlier in the week. During an Aug. 8 appearance on Fox 10 Phoenix, the seemingly rueful racquet sport enthusiast had said, “I’m sorry to all of the other passengers, there’s no excuse for what happened.”
He added that he’d been going through nicotine withdrawal with 35 minutes left in the two-hour flight.
“I wish I never picked up a vape to begin with,” Nguyen lamented. “It sucks knowing in order to be myself, I have to have nicotine. I feel so helpless.”
In light of the embarrassing ordeal, the flyer has pledged to quit the automated cancer stick, although he nonetheless demanded that the flight attendant apologize for opening the lavatory door on him.
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