A Black man has gone viral after beating up an Australian man who was mocking him on a flight.
The video that is circulating on the X platform does not give much context to the altercation but shows the African-American in his seat and recording the other man, who is said to be drunk in the footage.
However, The West Australian reports that witnesses said the rowdy man was insulting other passengers on the Dec . 1 Scoot Flight TR396 from Perth, Australia, to Manila, Philippines, and “demanded drinks” from the crew for hours.
Then, at one point, the 44-year-old man, who was pulled off the plane in the Philippines by police after the altercation, seemed to have an issue with being filmed and demanded that the passenger stop recording him.
“What are you filming?” he walks over and asks.
The counter is the white man mimicking his comment and then an invitation to a fight.
“I’m gonna film an a— whupping in a minute,” the Black man, who says he was from Vegas, says calmly.
“I’ll beat you a—,” the Black man says, with an immediate response to the challenge, “Well, what’s up!”
The Black guy issued another warning, emphasizing that he would resort to physical violence if the Aussie didn’t stop mocking him. Despite the clear caution, the other person remained defiant and kept taunting him. Understanding that if he strikes first, particularly on a plane, he will go to jail, the Black man tells the white man to make the first move.
The Aussie threw a punch.
“The (Australian) slapped him real hard, and then it all kicked off,” one eyewitness said to the New York Post, adding that the Black man’s cap fell off his head from the impact of the hit.
The recording captures the swing and the flurry and then is edited to the aftermath, where the guy is sitting on the floor with a bloody nose and eye.
“As soon as he was down, a couple of other guys were kicking him on the ground,” the witness reported, adding, “The flight attendants were stressing out. A couple of the guys and flight attendants zip-tied his arms and legs together, and they waited for the police to come.”
Social media had a field day, claiming the man should have left him alone and offering this as a precautionary visual of what happens when someone pushes the right person’s buttons.
The person who posted the 1:14 minute video captioned it, “Just leave Black folk alone. Stop disrespecting black folks.”
Of the over 17,000 viewers, a few chimed in with the sentiment he got what he wanted, even mocking him for agreeing at the end that he provoked his own battery.
“He got exactly what he deserved!” one person tweeted, as another said the man gave him “fair warning.”
Some posted cheering GIFs to express how proud they were of the recorder.
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 pic.twitter.com/V6E9SnPCZu
— The black phenom (@Theblackphenom1) December 5, 2023
— Just enjoying life99 (@Loverofearthfo) December 5, 2023
— D (@eastharlemsown) December 5, 2023
Not everyone commended the Black man’s actions. One person suggested he did more harm to himself than the person lumped up in the aisle.
“No fly-list is getting longer!” the person quipped.
As the Australian man was being escorted off the plane by authorities, he confronted another passenger. This did not result in another altercation. Whether the man will be charged in the Philippines or another country remains uncertain.
