Alaska Airlines flight attendant twerks on plane, gets fired

Nelle Diala claims she was wrongfully fired from her job as a flight attendant at Alaska Airlines. Photo / GoFundMe

A flight attendant has turned to fundraising after she lost her job for twerking on a plane.

San Francisco woman Nelle Diala, a now-former flight attendant for Alaska Airlines, shared a video to TikTok of her twerking in uniform on a plane with no passengers.

The 15-second video clip showed Diala dancing and twerking alone in the aisle of an aircraft with E.K.E’s song Ghetto playing.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines twerking as “sexually suggestive dancing characterised by rapid, repeated hip thrusts and shaking of the buttocks, especially while squatting”.

According to Diala, she recorded the “harmless” video, which had racked up more than 90,000 views, at 6am while waiting for two pilots.

She claimed she was “celebrating the end of probation and making it out of a hard upbringing” in the video but Alaska Airlines sacked her shortly after she shared it.

@_jvnelle415

Cant even be yourself anymore, without the world being so sensitive. Whats wrong with a little twerk before work, people act like they never did that before. #fyp #flightattendantlife 4evaa #discrimnationisreal

♬ Ghetto - E.K.E.

Diala captioned a repost of the TikTok: “Can’t even be yourself anymore, without the world being so sensitive. What’s wrong with a little twerk before work, people act like they never did that before.”

On January 4, Diala set up a GoFundMe page titled “Support for a Wrongfully Fired Flight Attendant” with a fundraising goal of US$12,000 ($21,400)

“The video went viral overnight, but instead of love and support, it brought unexpected scrutiny,” Diala wrote on the fundraising page which had raised almost $3500 as of Friday afternoon.

“Although it was a poor decision on my behalf I didn’t think it would cost me my dream job.”

Alaska Airlines terminated her job after saying she violated its social media policy, Diala claimed.

“I never thought this video, which didn’t even mention the airline by name, would cost me my career. Now, I am trying to figure out how to move forward.”

She said the fundraising page was to “help make ends meet” until she finds another job. “I’ve learned from my mistakes and those don’t define me… We listen and we don’t judge," Diala said.

Some commenters on the reposted TikTok expressed their support for Diala, saying, “they hatin cause the vid [fire emoji]” and ”work it boo".

Others were surprised Diala shared a provocative video of herself while in company uniform. “In what world did you think twerking in uniform on the plane would be okay?” one user wrote.

Alaska Airlines declined to comment when the Herald reached out, saying it doesn’t comment on personal matters.