'Yellowstone' actor Forrie Smith says he was 'kicked off' a flight for refusing to sit next to a passenger wearing a mask

25.03.2024 - 09:27 / insider.com

Forrie Smith said in an Instagram video on Saturday that he was "kicked off" a plane after he refused to sit next to a passenger who was wearing a mask.

Smith, who's known for his role in the Western drama "Yellowstone," said in the video that he "didn't feel comfortable" sitting next to another person who was masked up. The post garnered almost 20,000 likes and over 2,100 comments at the time of writing.

"You know my social media people tell me that you like me face to face. But you know what, I can't say face to face what I want," Smith, 65, said in the video. In the video, Smith was wearing a camouflage cap and a blue shirt with a green coat.

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"But they threw me off the plane because I'm drunk. Because you people won't stand up and tell everybody what bullshit this is," Smith continued, adding that he had been waiting at an airport in Houston for three hours and had been drinking, but said he wasn't drunk.

Smith did not state which airline or flight he was on. Smith did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

A post shared by Forrie J. Smith (@forriejsmithcowboy)

Several comments criticized Smith for ostracizing the passenger wearing a mask on the flight.

"I wore a mask all the time when my mom was on hospice care and traveling back and forth to see her. This post makes me sad as a fan," one person wrote.

Another person commented: "I have cancer I'd probably wear a mask on an airplane…. Dammit don't do live stuff while drinking - it's sad & embarrassing."

It's not the first time Smith has expressed disapproval of COVID-19 protection like masks and vaccinations. In February 2022, Smith said in an Instagram post that he would skip the Screen Actors Guild Awards as he wasn't vaccinated and had no plans to get the shot.

Over the past few years, Anti-vaxxers — people who refuse to get vaccines — made their skepticism toward shots to stop the spread of COVID-19 known.

And Smith isn't the only celebrity in the anti-vaccine community. In February, far-right figures lauded Woody Harrelson on X after he pushed an anti-vaccine theory on SNL. In December 2022, actor Matthew Marsden said he lost a role in a movie as he wasn't vaccinated.