HOUSTON – Earlier this week, Forrie J. Smith made headlines after he said he was removed from a flight about to take off from Houston, for asking to move away from a passenger wearing a mask.
Now, he’s giving a few more details about what happened.
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The actor, known for his role as Lloyd Pierce in the neo-western Paramount Network show Yellowstone, kicked up the controversy when he first posted a video on Instagram from a Houston airport, explaining he’d been kicked off the flight. He also admitted having a bit to drink, “Yeah I’ve been drinking, I’ve been sitting at an airport for 3 hours... but I ain’t drunk,” he said. Then he says he got “Throwed off the plane because I’m drunk because you people won’t stand up and tell everybody what bull**** this is. I just told ‘em I didn’t feel comfortable about sittin’ next to somebody that had to wear a mask. And I’m off the plane.”
In a new video, he’s clarifying his stance on masked passengers.
“This is getting so crazy,” Smith said in his most recent video, “I don’t read the media and stuff, so all I’m getting is what my friends are telling me.”
Smith said he had a brief conversation with the masked passenger, who told him she was wearing the mask “to stay safe.” A short time later, he asked a flight attendant to be moved while getting up to use the restroom.
He explained that he believes in “herd immunity” and he was uncomfortable sitting next to someone who chooses to wear a mask. He said he didn’t intend to offend anyone on the plane.
“When I see people in a mask, I’m like, ‘What’s up?’” Smith said. “Are they going to rob me? Are they sick? Are they scared of me and my germs? It was all innocent.”
Smith has more than half a million IG followers.