@kobe.pickleball, a pickleball manager and influencer from Arizona is facing a viral backlash after filming himself mid-meltdown aboard an American Airlines flight, shortly after allegedly being caught vaping in the plane’s restroom.
The video, originally posted to his own Instagram account and seemingly intended to shame the airline, shows the passenger filming himself arguing with the cabin crew. His main complaint was that a flight attendant “forced the door open” to the lavatory and “put hands” on him. The passenger claims he was just using the bathroom, not vaping. American Airlines staff didn’t buy it, and neither did the internet.
In the clip, the man identifies himself as a lawyer (though Reddit sleuths later found no evidence to support that claim) and boasts, “I have 25,000 followers.” He also threatens legal action, repeatedly asserting, “I have a lawyer. I am a lawyer.”
Instead of garnering sympathy, the video has sparked a wave of criticism across social media platforms.
“Nobody cares about your followers, loser,” one top comment reads.
“That poor flight attendant having to deal with this b*tch ass numb nut,” wrote another. “I’d like to send her on a spa vacation to decontaminate her brain.”
The most consistent reaction was eye-rolling at the follower count flex. “Are there people for whom ‘I have x number of followers’ affects their next actions?” one user asked. Another piled on: “25,000 followers can’t be wrong. /s”
Critics also noted that his Instagram account, aside from this viral video, appears to show minimal engagement, suggesting the followers might be purchased or mostly bots.
“I checked his Instagram. All the comments are from bots,” one commenter claimed. “The only video that has real engagement on his profile is this one 😂💀”
Others questioned his supposed legal credentials. “Admitting guilt on camera of violating federal aviation law is literally lawyer 101 of what you don’t do ever,” one Redditor wrote. “If he is a lawyer, which I doubt, he’s a dumb one.”
And just to drive the point home, another user added: “His lawyer? Also has a lawyer… which is him. It’s the circle of lawyers.”
The FAA has strict regulations against smoking or vaping aboard aircraft. The consequences range from fines to being placed on a no-fly list: none of which can be negotiated with a follower count.
As for the original video, it’s still up on the pickleball manager’s account, though comments have been limited. Whether this incident will impact his day job remains to be seen.
But as one user summed up:
“He’s a pickleball coach by day, lawyer by night. A real influencer superhero. Just don’t let him near a smoke detector.”
