Who is Peter Nguyen? 'Celebrity pickleball coach' removed from American Airlines flight after harassing female flight attendant in viral video

A passenger was recently involved in a verbal fight with an attendant onboard an American Airlines plane.

The man, identified as Peter Nguyen, posted a video of the incident on his Instagram account. He argued with a crew member after she caught him vaping in the plane’s bathroom. American Airlines later acknowledged the incident and revealed that Nguyen was removed from the flight at SFO (San Francisco International Airport). The airline said (via The Sun):

“A customer on American Airlines flight 2860 with service from Phoenix (PHX) to San Francisco (SFO) was removed from the aircraft upon arrival at SFO due to disruptive behavior. We thank our customers for their patience and apologize for any inconvenience.”

Peter “Kobe” Nguyen, not to be confused with the more popular Canadian internet comedian Peter Nguyen, is a celebrity pickleball coach and AI expert, per his LinkedIn profile. He is the CEO and creator of ManagerAI and RideX (a new ridesharing app). Nguyen has also served as Head of Information and Technology at DeltaQuantum USA since February 2025.

The University of California, Berkeley alumnus has experience working at Workday, SmartNews, Google, Powerside, and more, according to his LinkedIn account. He further describes himself as a “Corporate AI Coach,” “Award-Winning AI Innovator,” “UX Researcher,” “Pro Pickleball Player & Coach,” and more.

Peter Nguyen’s on-camera verbal spat with the flight attendant went viral

NEW: 'Celebrity pickleball coach' has a meltdown after a flight attendant caught him smoking in the bathroom, demands an apology while threatening to post the video to his "25,000 followers."



Wow this guy sucks.



Peter Nguyen was seen accosting a female flight attendant,… pic.twitter.com/je1gnshjfZ

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 6, 2025

The popular pickleball coach made his Instagram account private after receiving online backlash due to his viral in-flight clip. Peter Nguyen recorded the verbal exchange with the flight attendant over vaping in the bathroom, while accusing her of touching and assaulting him. The viral clip was also shared by Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg).

Rugg’s X post also received plenty of reactions, with many criticizing Peter Nguyen.

“I’m a pickleball coach and I have 25,000 followers! I’m sort of a big dill,” a user joked.

“It’s annoying when influencers use their platforms to blackmail regular citizens trying to do their jobs,” another user wrote.

“Seems like the flight attendant is correct here. Why is anyone smoking in the lavatory on a plane?” someone shared their opinion.

“You guys use the word ‘celebrity’..... wayyyy too much,” another one added.

The video starts with an argument between the flight attendant and Nguyen. The pickleball coach is heard apologizing after the air hostess caught him vaping in the restroom. She tries to stop Nguyen from recording, while saying:

“You can keep saying sorry, but I’m… I care about all these passengers, okay? So it’ll be on you and I see you’re recording me.”

As the flight attendant tries to put her hand on the camera, Peter Nguyen moves his phone away. He continues recording and accuses the air hostess of touching him, which another crew member denies. He is heard saying:

“Did you put your hands on me? She just put her hands on me. Yes she did. She put her hands on me. She tried to grab my phone.”

As the other air hostess further accuses Peter Nguyen of smoking in the restroom, he apologizes but continues speaking:

“I have a lawyer. I am a lawyer. [...] You do not put your hands on me. [...] I have 25,000 followers. I have 25,000 followers that are going to watch this.”

He threatens to release the video while asking the flight attendant to apologize. He says:

“So do you want me to release this or you want to say sorry to me right now. Say sorry. [flight attendant apologizes] Do not touch me. You do not get to touch a passenger and I was in the restroom. You’re opening the door.”

When asked to go back to his seat, Nguyen declined and said:

“I’m actually going to call the police when I get back to the ground. On you. You do not put your hands on a passenger.”

Nguyen continued accusing the flight attendant of touching and assaulting him, while she directed him to his seat and refuted his allegations. As mentioned, the San Francisco Police Department later escorted the passenger off the plane after it landed.