Vaping American Airlines passenger who fought with stewardess rescinds apology and now claims he’s the victim

A shameless American Airlines passenger who got into a feud with a flight attendant after she caught him vaping mid-air claims that he was the victim. 

Peter ‘Kobe’ Nguyen doubled down on his response following the August 4 altercation, where he filmed himself berating a flight attendant for intruding on him vaping in a plane bathroom. 

The self-described Hollywood producer and pickleball coach took to Instagram after his outburst circulated on social media, claiming that he was somehow victimized in the argument. 

‘Something happened to me that I never imagined I’d have to go through — especially on a commercial airline,’ Nguyen said in his post. 

‘While flying on American Airlines Flight 2860, my privacy and dignity were violated in ways that left me shaken, humiliated and hurt.’ 

Nguyen accused the crew member on the Phoenix to San Francisco flight of opening the bathroom door while he was inside after she saw smoke. 

Nguyen then fraudulently told the flight attendant he was a lawyer and threatened to target her on social media through his 20,000 Instagram followers. 

Despite breaking federal law by smoking on the plane Nguyen withdrew an initial apology and claims, ‘the incident has impacted my mental health, my work, and my ability to trust the very systems meant to keep us safe’.

The unruly passenger initially blamed his outburst on ‘nicotine withdrawal’.

However his latest post was far less remorseful and featured an image of an airline staffer with their arms crossed, captioned: ‘I can’t delete it, it’s already on the internet’, apparently in reference to the backlash.

He complained in the post that he ‘lost a very important friend through all of this – someone I cared for deeply and who was an important part of my life’, as a result of the viral altercation.

‘I’m not just a CEO and nonprofit founder – I’m also a Hollywood producer. The reputational harm from this incident has been devastating to my career,’ he said. 

It is not clear what Hollywood movies Nguyen has produced nor what he is the CEO of. Daily Mail has contacted Nguyen for clarification. 

He says on his social media that he is a pickleball coach and ‘AI expert’.

Nguyen signed off his post by saying that he has, ‘formally taken this matter to American Airlines’ legal department’.

‘My goal is not only accountability, but to make sure this never happens to anyone else,’ he wrote. 

‘I will fight for justice, privacy, and dignity for every passenger.’ 

The belligerent passenger faced calls to be added to the no-fly list, however he shared a defiant Instagram story on Tuesday from inside a plane captioned ‘No flight ban’.

Nguyen’s post marks a U-turn from his initial response to his viral conflict with the flight attendant, as he previously apologized for his behavior in an interview with Fox 10 Phoenix. 

He told the outlet: ‘I’m sorry to all of the other passengers, there’s no excuse for what happened.’ 

He said that he vaped on the flight because he was struggling with nicotine withdrawals and couldn’t wait another 30 minutes until he landed. 

‘I wish I never picked up a vape to begin with,’ he said. 

‘It sucks knowing in order to be myself, I have to have nicotine. I feel so helpless.’ 

Daily Mail has contacted American Airlines for comment on Nguyen’s threat of legal action.