Guys, missiles might be striking airports in the Middle East as the Gulf carriers face an existential crisis, but will someone please think of the travel influencers?!
Continue reading: Influencer Furious Qatar Airways Crew Asks Him To Follow Rules, Not Film Them
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It’s common respect and no one should be subjected to that - it a NO so follow that request or we will take steps to advance this … oh hi Josh sorry I didn’t see you there
He's lucky they didn't hand him over to the police during his Doha transit, because filming someone without permission is a criminal act there.
Its common decency that if someone you are interacting with asks you (reasonably) not to do something, you don't do it. Not just on airplanes.
Something that I often question with these 'influencers' is that are they often deliberately gaslighting?
I mean lets take this case - some one I have never heard of and probably most people reading this article wouldn't have either.
They make money from interaction with their socials - lots of people reading this here (or on other blogs) might be curious and go to the account to view or even comment - playing right into the hands of the creator.
What's that old saying? There is no such thing as bad publicity.
David G Travels here - as someone who films onboard flights all the time, I agree with your take here. Not even mentioning the high stress employees for gulf airlines are having to deal with right now.
And I thought Cahill was going to man up and double down on his a**hole.
Entitled influencers.
Filming should be banned inside the aircraft, unless the person recording obtains an explicit approval from every single person (passenger and crew) who might be captured in the video.
"They are their (sic) for your safety and service. Not for your entertainment." A good point but it wold have been more impactful if the writer had used "there".
"3 out of 4 flights in 2 weeks..." and he still didn't learn. Braindead idiot.
Going to make a broad statement here and I feel that I will have no problem standing by it.
“Influencers” are always wrong. Always idiots. Always entitled petulant children (sorry kids for the comparison) and always just annoying.
People that are influenced by the “influencers” are by definition one step lower on the ladder.
So easy to shut these idiots up. Why would anyone give someone like this moron the time of day ?
You need to stop publishing things about influenzas.
The guy trying to film is clearly a complete bellend who seems to think its his right to film all flight. No, they dont have to wait til he is done filming and then ask to have their faces removed cos then its already been filmed. What they can do is shut entitled knobs down before they film.
This guy’s taken 4 flights in the past two weeks while the ME is in-chaos, and is griping about this? Tone deaf. Wish we weren’t giving any attention to it.
Herr Aljoscha Wendholt has serious competition for 2026's 'Most Virulent Airborne Pest'.
And @Miles for the winning comment!
Content creators will be the reason in future where taking video will be banned or will come with high fees.
Just like TV/Movie productions need commercial license, I think influencers who record video to moneytise on social media should also pay a commercial fees. Until then, they should oblige with existing regulations and respect privacy of crew and other passengers.
Lucky - a couple of things here. First and foremost, I know you are very kind, considerate and meticulous when filming, snapping photos, etc. You are definitely not the intrusive type of person. Thank you for that and thank you for being all those things I mentioned. "Influencers" are a totally different breed of people and ones that quite frankly, annoy the living hell out of me. So-called "influencers" need to have their cameras shoved where the sun doesn't shine and then thrown out the door at 35,000 ft. in the air!!
This guy's grammar is as poor as his manners. And his entitlement is off the charts, despite someone like me never having heard of him.
No wonder he's an "influencer" for a living.
Get a real job!
Everywhere you go in life there are cameras taking videos of you. Driving down street. ATMs. Banks. Restaurants. Churches. Schools. Police with body cams. People with their phones. It should be no big deal. No one asks permission in any circumstances listed above and thousands of others. People need to get over it. If you are out in public people can film. Sneaking into your home and making a video or taking pics from outside bedroom window is of course wrong and intrusive. You cannot expect privacy in public. Cheers
More content filler that is more appropriate for Gary's View from the Clickbait.
Qatar is an excellent if not the best carrier on Planet Earth hands down. With that being said flight crew like any human can have a great day and not so great day. FAFO theory suggests you never know what. When this fool goes onto a plane films passengers harasses flight attendants you get what you deserve. A plane is no place for your insignificant job.
Just substitute "douchebag" for "influencer" and it will all make sense. This is true about 99.9% of the time.
He nicely proved why the “I’ll blur you out of it” approach doesn’t work: the crew will have to worry about this random person upholding their word.
I’m guessing FAs working premium cabins on premium airlines are getting filmed constantly. No one wants to go unintentionally viral for doing their job.
Lucky: you mention names of crew when they are great, but not when they fall short. That’s class.
Why is this even a story? Why are you giving this random guy the attention he wants Ben?
No disrespect, Ben, but this is kind of emblematic of why people are getting tired of influencer culture. Filming is fine—until it involves other people who’ve clearly said no. At that point, it’s not content, it’s entitlement.
So many false equivalences here, @Clown. There's a huge difference between SECURITY cameras in public that are meant to record any crimes, accidents, or other public safety concerns and influencers recording others - especially without their permission - for clicks and profit. It's wild you cannot see the difference...
Oh my god, this guy should be banned from qr. Either way he thinks qr suites are worse than shitty seats on the us airlines so he wouldn't come back. I just don't understand these so called influencers and drama queens, including Dan you defended
I knew this guy has terrible taste when I saw him liking the safety video because it has Kevin Hart in it.
I don’t mind Ben occasionally (key word there) publishing articles about influencers behaving badly. What I do mind is directly linking to their offending post directly in the body of the article. That rewards their bad behavior with engagement. To paraphrase a common saying, “there’s no such thing as bad [engagment]” on social media.
Can I suggest, if you have to provide a proper citation/attribution, use a screenshot instead? If a video is involved, as here, then write up a brief summary or transcription of what happens instead of linking directly to it. Don’t know if you have to include a name or username, but I’d prefer you didn’t.
Fxuk America, fxuk trump, fxuk the Epstein class and fxuk all instagram and tik tok influencer monkeys
100% on the side of Qatar Airways and their staff. Also, the content creator could use a good editor/editing software
Those videos aren't uploaded to the internet for someone else to profit from. How can you compare CCTV security footage to some "influencer" creating content?
To me the problem is he was filming with a lucrative motive, i.e., to generate remuneration from posting on social media. That should not be allowed without agreement from and compensation to those being recorded. If the filming was just for his personal use and enjoyment, I think he should be free to do so, just as he is free to record in any other public space. I understand the airline policy doesn’t allow this, but I’m saying I think it should be allowed. With the prevalence of cell phones equipped with cameras these days, if you don’t want to be filmed, don’t go out in public.
He has fewer than 500K followers on IG, so he's not particularly influential. They'll find themselves banned from Qatar if they're not careful. That would be a shame.
I happen to agree with you on all of your cited people. Where I disagree with you totally is your love for circumcised goat-fondling peen.
Airlines are not common carriers. When you buy a ticket you're agreeing to the Conditions of Carriage stipulated therein, which generally make it clear that the instructions given by crew must be followed. Most countries have laws to back this up. If the FA asks you to stop filming; and I'm sure it was done very politely; then you're obliged to stop filming, and yeah, that's just because they say so. Making a fuss might see you back in the terminal, or being escorted out to a police van.
1. I'm so very special. I like to have sex with my wife on airplanes, fully nude, in the sight line of all.
2. If you are Staff, you can kindly ask AFTER we are done that you don’t want to see our genitals, we can always cover up, but won't as we only pretend respect.
3. Someone paying Business/First Class, it’s a whole experience, if someone enters a plane and wants to have sex, you should let them have fun. Essentially, I get to imagine what I'd like in the experience, and you should accommodate. I am an influencer, after all.
You can’t realistically avoid being filmed in public on some random person’s phone. But no-one wants it splashed all over some blog.
Another privileged moron who thinks an iPhone camera makes them a journalist or relevant. And he likely didn't pay anything for this flight, either getting it free from Qatar (influencers, ugh), used miles or paid for by sponsors. So quit with phony outrage and manipulated events just to get views. We know the algorithms say anger and outrage drive more views. My experience, paid for by me with real dollars, is that Qatar is far and away one of the better airlines I've flown, business and coach, from gate agents to flight attendants. Far better than the casual indifference I get on most domestic airlines (looking at you, American Airlines).
I often wonder how these people would feel if someone had a camera on them all day as they do their job? Or am I giving them too much credit by assuming they have real employment.
Influencers are scum of the earth.
Easy solution. Leave the "Influencers" in an area where the Bombs/missiles are falling.problem will solve itself and Influencers will really have something to complain about!
Right so Ben is an idiot? I mean many people these days are influencers, just in many different ways. Noel Philips, genuinely nice guy but granted he does sometimes get others in the shots. Still, he’s not an idiot.
But to label all influencers as idiots is a bit extreme no?
Self described “content creators” and “influencers” are completely insufferable and this one seems especially so. Is anyone actually “influenced” by these people except other insufferables?
It’s wrong pure and simple. There are very specific limited cases where you film without permission-investigative journalism, etc. - otherwise people have a right to go about their jobs unhindered.
I remember when I first started filming on planes 30 years ago the rule was you could only film from the back looking forward - because there may be people on the aircraft who were with people they were not supposed to be with. Well, those times have clearly changed, but the rules of common courtesy remain.
I’d bet that the vast majority of his “followers” are fake. He seems like a million other social media poseurs who buys a bunch of bot followers and think they’re celebrities and entrepreneurs.
I do not want to be filmed, end of.
These so called people think the world owes a living
Qatar should just ban him and his wife. Would make every other passengers life better.
End of story
Influencers suck. are obnoxious most of the time, entitled all of the time. Get an honest job.
"Do you really think this self-absorbed ambassador of main character syndrome audacity will ever NOT do such BS? All it cares about is $$$ no matter what. And this is why seppos are so disliked."
"The more one investigates this influencer character, the more one realises that he is an undeniable racist. A bigot and self promoting narcissist.
In many countries of the world the USA, GB and Europe, etc, black and brown folks are being discriminated against in favour of the white skin races. That is also self evident in this influence videos. Not a black or brown white skin person to be seen unless he is berating them. As the brown skinned crew in he video can testify, The influencer is an unmistakable racist."
I think the airline should ban him and they should do so in a public way. Then, may be other airlines will follow suit. I am very happy that this happened. I am tired of people like this feeling entitled and not following the policy or having a basic level of respect for other people. Agree with the comment that this blog should not be linking to content like this but an article to discuss it is fine.
About your comment regarding filiming in US airports, generally that's correct unless at a secure area like the security check or immigration, etc.
Although I find it quite convenient that Ben embedded the Reel with this full time drama queef, I hate the fact that this couple financially gains from our clicks. I would suggest henceforth to generate AI cartoon versions of this type of social gunk, so we all get the point without benefiting trashfluencers.
I don't see how one can use the word "influencers" without putting it like that, in inverted commas. There ought to have been a grammar rule by now.
Why would you give this guy the time of day - I met him at a Prince of Travel conference long before he was influencer status. He was obnoxious then and is obnoxious now. He knew nothing and has learnt all his dirty tricks from every conceivable ' travel blogger'.
To add, Prince of Travel, I realized started out with noble intentions but now has fed information into the large pool of insufferable travel bloggers. Good, or rather great information should be behind a barrier unless the people who receive it have good intentions.
He an wife are both total parasitic morons! The horrible grammar is the icing on the cake!!
It's sad you are giving this guy real organic exposure. Just look at the ratio of his 'followers' vs the average reel views, likes and comments. LOL
Ohhh fuk! He's Colombian! No wonder. Have never met a Colombian I've liked, or could trust, or wouldn't sell their ass for a buck to make a dime!
I follow a lot of helpful, mature, professional, interesting influencers. But this guy's level of privilege is something. What a jerk.