Celebrity pickleball coach or as he describes himself as Peter ‘Kobe’ Nguyen, was caught in an airborne ruckus aboard an American Airlines flight. His viral video is being shredded to pieces on social media as he poses as the victim when caught violating a key airplane rule of smoking.

The influencer, celebrity, and public figure was reportedly smoking an e-cigarette inside the lavatory. In the video, he was seen shouting “She assaulted me, y’all’ after the unnamed air hostess tried to open the door of the lavatory while Nguyen was inside.

‘I have 25,000 followers, I have a lawyer’

After apologising for vaping on board, Nguyen did not mellow down. The shouting duel continued as the celebrity pickleball coach did not back down from the argument. He threatened to post the video on his social media account with 25,000 followers. He repeatedly claimed that the air hostess assaulted him and tried to touch him and said, “I have a lawyer. I will call the police.”

While his account is private, the New York Post reported that he made a follow-up post after uploading this video. He complained about the American Airlines customer service and demanded an internal investigation. In the caption, he wrote, “Justice is about to be served,” and defended his action by saying it was “nicotine withdrawal” in the comments. This came after Nguyen threatened to get the air hostess fired and demanded an apology when he was still in the washroom, mid-use.

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‘Ban him. For life’ – Social media uproar

The internet was not kind to the “AI Expert + Celebrity Pickleball Coach + Agent,” and netizens appeared furious with his reactions. “It’s annoying when influencers use their platforms to blackmail regular citizens trying to do their jobs,” wrote a user on X (formerly Twitter).

“What is sad is how Millennials and Gen Z think follower count is the most important thing in life. And how they think it gives them some kind of power,” said another user, expressing disappointment with the incident.

Another comment was reportedly from an eyewitness who revealed he was detained after the flight landed. Advocating for the air hostess, netizens supported that she was in the right for doing her job. A comment read that she deserved a raise too, while others slammed his self-proclaimed title of being a “celebrity pickleball coach”.