Man Crying over Being Kicked off Flight and Called a 'Terrorist' Viewed 15 Million Times

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A video of a man shouting "they call me a f***ing terrorist," after being kicked off a flight has gone viral on social media. The video received at least 15.3 million views and tens of thousands of retweets since it was shared on Twitter at the time of reporting.

The man in the video can be heard crying out: "This is what they do to us, they kicked me off a flight, they call me a f***ing terrorist and they want to rule my life."

Another person in the video was seen approaching the man and can be heard saying: "Sir, please calm down. I was kicked off Delta earlier," before the video ends.

The video, first shared on TikTok by user @heartlessbeech (who was previously known as @heartlessputa, the username credited in the video), has received at least 52,500 likes on TikTok since it was posted.

The caption of the video on TikTok reads: "Homeboy had a full toddler level meltdown bc [because] he was told to wear a mask 🥱#fyp."

The TikTok video was shared on Twitter by multiple users, including by Yashar Ali (a writer for New York Magazine and The Huffington Post) and @RayRedacted (a researcher and host of the Tribe of Hackers Podcast).

In a tweet sharing the video, user @RayRedacted wrote: "People who broke into the Capitol Wednesday are now learning they are on No-Fly lists pending the full investigation. They are not happy about this." At the time of reporting, the post received at least 393,200 likes, 84,500 retweets and 55,000 quote retweets.

Just like the other TikTok I just quote tweeted, this has nothing to do with the US Capitol Building or no-fly lists as it relates to domestic terrorism.

This man, according to the woman who filmed it, was kicked off the flight for not wearing a mask. https://t.co/dBoz18uXUd

— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) January 10, 2021

However, the tweet posted by Ali noted: "Just like the other TikTok I just quote tweeted, this has nothing to do with the US Capitol Building or no-fly lists as it relates to domestic terrorism.

"This man, according to the woman who filmed it, was kicked off the flight for not wearing a mask," Ali added in the post. The tweet has received at least 3,800 likes, 1,200 retweets and 313 quote tweets at the time of reporting.

A tweet by David Slotnick, senior airline reporter at Business Insider, sharing a screenshot of the video screen on TikTok, also added: "The caption on the original post says it's mask related."

Newsweek has contacted Delta, the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration for comment.

People who broke into the Capitol Wednesday are now learning they are on No-Fly lists pending the full investigation. They are not happy about this. pic.twitter.com/5GfHo1eVU8

— Ray [REDACTED] (@RayRedacted) January 10, 2021

On Friday, Delta removed two "unruly'' passengers traveling from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to Minneapolis, Minnesota, a spokesperson for the airline, Morgan Durrant, told USA Today.

The flight departed for Minneapolis following a short delay, according to Durrant. The company did not disclose any details about the incident, which took place on Flight 3765.

Durrant said in a statement: "As a values-led company, we expect our people and customers to treat one another with dignity and respect as we safely fly them to their destinations, including wearing masks and following all instructions from Delta people at the airport and on-board."

Last week, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), an airline union representing nearly 50,000 flight attendants across 17 different airlines, called for rioters who breached the Capitol on Wednesday to be banned from flying.

In a statement issued by the AFA, President Sara Nelson noted how "mob mentality behavior" was noticed from numerous passengers flying to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday calling it "unacceptable" and a threat to "the safety and security of every single person onboard."

"Acts against our democracy, our government, and the freedom we claim as Americans must disqualify these individuals from the freedom of flight," the statement said.

Ronald Reagan National Airport, Virgina, December 2020
Crowds at the Ronald Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, seen on December 18, 2020. A man crying over being kicked off a flight and being called a "terrorist" has been viewed 15 million times... Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images

About the writer

Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in travel, health, home/interior design and property/real estate. Soo covered the COVID-19 pandemic extensively from 2020 to 2022, including several interviews with the chief medical advisor to the president, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Soo has reported on various major news events, including the Black Lives Matter movement, the U.S. Capitol riots, the war in Afghanistan, the U.S. and Canadian elections, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Soo is also a South Korea expert, covering the latest K-dramas—including the breakout hit Squid Game, which she has covered extensively, including from Seoul, the South Korean capital—as well as Korean films, such as the Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated Past Lives, and K-pop news, to interviews with the biggest Korean actors, such as Lee Jung-jae from Squid Game and Star Wars, and Korean directors, such as Golden Globe and Oscar nominee Celine Song. Soo is the author of the book How to Live Korean, which is available in 11 languages, and co-author of the book Hello, South Korea: Meet the Country Behind Hallyu. Before Newsweek, Soo was a travel reporter and commissioning editor for the award-winning travel section of The Daily Telegraph (a leading U.K. national newspaper) for nearly a decade from 2010, reporting on the latest in the travel industry, from travel news, consumer travel and aviation issues to major new openings and emerging destinations. Soo is a graduate of Binghamton University in New York and the journalism school of City University in London, where she earned a Masters in international journalism. You can get in touch with Soo by emailing s.kim@newsweek.com . Follow her on Instagram at @miss.soo.kim or X, formerly Twitter, at @MissSooKim .Languages spoken: English and Korean


Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in Read more