Drama In Air France La Premiere: “Don’t Film Me,” “Shut Up,” “You’re Racist”

We see passengers get into arguments with one another on planes all the time. However, this is the first time I’ve ever seen something like this in Air France’s La Premiere, which is without a doubt the world’s most exclusive (and expensive) first class product.

Was a passenger actually being racist, or were the other passengers simply acting inappropriately, and didn’t like being called out?

Lemuel Plummer films in Air France La Premiere, gets called out

Lemuel Plummer is the CEO of Zeus Network, and he has 3.2 million followers on Instagram. I hadn’t heard of him before this incident, but it seems there’s quite a bit of controversy surrounding him.

Anyway, he recently took to Instagram stories to share some video footage from inside the Air France La Premiere first class cabin. The cabin has just four seats, and it looks like there was one French man seated in the far window seat, and then the other three seats were occupied by Plummer and his entourage.

He captioned the video with the following:

Seeing three young Black men in first class really broke his brain. That wasn’t shock… that was racism showing its ugly uneducated face.

The man in the window seat could be seen recording Plummer and his entourage, as Plummer said the following to him:

“Sir, you’re racist, and I’m going to record you the whole flight, just like you’re recording me, cause you’re racist, make that stupid face.”

Plummer then posted the following explanation in a separate story:

First and foremost, there were multiple first-class seats available. We were seated lawfully, quietly, and respectfully. No disruption. No noise. The individual in question wasn’t even present when we boarded.. he arrived, saw three Black men seated in first class, stared, sat down, and then unsolicitedly interrupted my video by instructing us to “be quiet” and “not talk.”

That interaction was unprovoked, inappropriate, and rooted in tired, racialized assumptions. I do not subscribe to stereotypes. I am not a rapper, an athlete, or a caricature meant to make others comfortable. I am a business owner. I run a legitimate television network, employ hundreds of people, contribute to the economy, and move with intention and dignity.

I do not tolerate discrimination in any form, nor will I ever accept being spoken to as though I am inferior or out of place. That narrative does not exist in my life or my universe. Respect is not optional.

Interestingly, there’s another video that starts a little bit earlier than the above one, and shows how Plummel was talking before this incident started. Plummel was obviously recording a video, and then the man in the window seat could be heard saying “please don’t film me.” Plummel responded “I don’t know who that guy is over there, nobody is filming you, bro, shut up, stop talking.”

The man said “no, I don’t shut up,” and then Plummel responded “it’s always racist white people, but you gotta block it, you know, it’s all good.”

My take on this unusual first class cabin confrontation

Let me acknowledge that racism in travel exists, and anyone who denies it is lying to themselves. In 2024, American basically acknowledged that it kicked all Black men off a flight because one had body odor issues, and they couldn’t figure out who it was (the airline later changed policies as a result of this incident). Of course it also has to be acknowledged that not every situation involving someone of a certain group is rooted in discrimination — sometimes people are just not acting right.

Here’s the thing, though. People book Air France La Premiere because they want utmost privacy. Admittedly it’s not quite private aviation, but it’s as close as it gets.

So I get it — this French guy spent a fortunate to fly Air France, and then arrived in a cabin that felt like a filming studio, where the three other people were talking loudly and filming videos. Typically La Premiere is filled with people who barely make a peep.

It’s bizarre, Plummel acknowledged he was filming a video when this all happened, but claimed there was “no noise.” It’s hard to take Plummel too seriously, when you look at the other videos he has filmed on planes. He once flew Cathay Pacific first class, and was filming everyone, and then yelled in the cabin “I want everyone to listen up, I’m working a big, big case for the FBI…”

Like, you can’t both argue that you’re quiet and not bothering others, and at the same time pull stunts like that.

All that being said, I think the other passenger starting to film these guys was probably counterproductive. If you don’t want to be filmed, don’t film others. You’re much better off reporting the issue to the crew, and letting them handle it (even though that also puts the crew in an unenviable position).

I think this situation might almost be an “old money” vs. “very new money” thing, with something lost in translation generationally. The one passenger obviously wanted the traditional premium experience of a cabin with solitude.

Meanwhile so many younger people who have money through various means nowadays want to film everything, livestream, etc. Heck, that’s their “brand,” and how they make money. And when those two worlds collide, it’s tricky.

In theory there are no rules against filming oneself, you just can’t film others. Did the camera at some point pan over at the guy in the window seat? I don’t know. But either way, I can understand how he was caught completely off guard, and didn’t want to end up in a video of someone who makes their living creating controversy.

Bottom line

While arguments between airline passengers are nothing new, it’s incredibly rare to see something like this in international first class, and in particular, in Air France’s La Premiere first class.

The four-seat cabin had an older passenger who clearly just wanted solitude, and then a group of three guys showed up, who were filming videos, posting stuff online, etc. The other passenger asked not to be filmed, and it escalated from there, with the group calling the man racist, and telling him to shut up. The man then started filming the group, leading to the group threatening to film him the entire flight.

These two parties definitely don’t see eye-to-eye. If Lemuel Plummer was just filming himself and his group, then he was probably being pretty annoying to others, but not violating any rules. Meanwhile if he was also filming the other passenger, that is a direct violation of the rules. Either way, I can understand how the other passenger was rather confused.

What do you make of this Air France La Premiere confrontation?