I'm not sure what is more embarrassing: getting caught vaping in an airplane bathroom, or calling yourself a -- and I quote -- "celebrity pickleball coach." I'd offer a third option: posting a meltdown on your Instagram page claiming to be a victim, only to instead have so many people calling you a douche, you make your account private. This is what happened to Peter “Kobe” Nguyen.

Also, I've got ten bucks he gave himself the "Kobe" nickname.

Disclaimer: I'm going out of my way to avoid learning anything about pickleball. What it is, where it came from, how you play... my brain is full and I don't feel like making room for whatever a pickleball is. As far as I can tell, it's tennis for lazy people. But, it's trendy, hence there being a need for...*sigh*..."celebrity" coaches.

Pete couldn't even break the airplane bathroom rule, smoking a cigarette like a normal person. He got caught vaping. And when a flight attendant confronted him about it, he proceeded to have a hissy fit.

As when most people whip out their cameras over mild inconveniences, Pete thought he'd be the hero in this story, and his tens of thousands of followers would rally to his defense to get this airline employee fired. He even referenced harnessing the power of his 25,000 followers.

That isn't quite what happened...

Commenters weren’t exactly on board with Nguyen’s digital pity party. “What a sorry attempt to portray yourself as a victim,” scoffed one critic. “Stop Vaping in the airplane, case closed.”

“So disappointed this video doesn’t end with this ‘sorry’ excuse for a gentleman being escorted away by security,” said another. “No flight attendant should have to deal with this, no fly lists exist for a reason.

”Nguyen was also ridiculed on Reddit with one poster writing, “someone please develop an app that lets you punch somebody through your phone.”

“I was just waiting for him to throw in the MY DAD IS RICH,” said another.

American Airlines issued a statement defending the flight attendant, adding that "San Francisco Police met the flight upon arrival and escorted the customer out of the concourse."

It's an impressive feat to make it so that, unironically, calling yourself a "celebrity pickleball coach" is the least embarrassing thing about a story. Shouts to Pete! He pulled it off with much aplomb.

Brodigan is Grand Poobah of this here website and when he isn't writing words about things enjoys day drinking, pro-wrestling, and country music. You can find him on the Twitter too.

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