An “influencer” passenger turned an Air France La Premiere first class suite into a film set, then tried to reframe a reasonable privacy request as something far uglier.
CEO Films In Air France La Premiere, Calls Passenger Racist When Asked To Stop
In an era of narcissism-validating social media, we often see travelers who think the cabin is their studio, the crew is their production team, and everyone else is just background scenery. The latest example involves Lemuel Plummer, a streaming CEO who was recently filming himself in Air France La Premiere first class when another passenger objected to being recorded.
Plummer was filming content in the cabin when a fellow passenger asked him not to record him. Based on the position of the camera, he reasonably assumed he was being recoreded and it isn’t clear that he wasn’t (since only edited video is posted below). That should have been the end of it. If someone does not want to be filmed, you respect that. Full stop.
Here’s the context:
Instead, things escalated, with Plummer accusing the passenger of racism, a serious charge that should never be tossed around as a convenient shield to deflect legitimate criticism. Plummer said:
“Seeing three young Black men in first class really broke his brain. That wasn’t shock… that was racism showing its ugly uneducated face.”
Girl, please. It wasn’t your skin color, it was your loud and obnoxious recording. Yet Plummer took to Instagram to defend his conduct:
Notice he says he was making no “noise” and yet in the very next sentence, he claims the man “interrupted” his video and told him not to talk. So what is it, were you making noise or not?
Maybe the French guy should not have started filming himself, but these days it is hard to blame him, especially when Plummer was denying he was being obnoxious while he was being obnoxious…
Film Yourself, Not Everyone Else
Let me be clear about something, because I take cabin photos and video too.
When I photograph a cabin, I line up early with the wheelchairs, board quickly, and take my pictures before anyone is seated or at least in a discreet way that goes to great lengths to avoid capturing identifiable faces of other passengers.
That is the key difference here. The problem is not that someone documented their flight. The problem is the way it was done: loudly, intrusively, and without basic respect for the people who paid for the same space and deserve to enjoy it without becoming part of the content.
It is ironic that today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. If you want to honor that legacy, you do not cheapen the word “racist” because someone asked you not to record them in a premium cabin. There is still so much real racism in this world and incidents like this play into the viewpoint that every accusation of racism must be treated as inherently suspect.
Playing The Racism Card Rings Hollow When You Have A Pattern
If this were a one-off misunderstanding, I might be more charitable to Plummer because at least in the edited video we have, his seatmate does not appear to be initially in the video. But there’s a pattern here.
One reason this Air France episode hit a nerve is that there is relevant context. Plummer was involved in a separate incident onboard Cathay Pacific First Class that was widely criticized for the same basic behavior: filming in a way that disturbed other passengers, totally indifferent to those seated around him.
In that earlier case, onboard Cathay Pacific First Class, he was filmed making loud, obnoxious, and racially-motivated statements in the cabin. His camera pans the six-seat 777 first class cabin and he notes there are “a lot of Asian people here” then later jokes he needs “closed caption” to read the menu (which was printed in English). He later requests “soul food,” the sort of ugly and obnoxious joking that no one finds funny.
like what is this? pic.twitter.com/4yDYF0WdLr
— Louis Pisano (@LouisPisano) January 17, 2026
When you repeatedly provoke conflict by ignoring boundaries, and then you repeatedly reach for the most inflammatory accusation available the moment someone pushes back, you are not fighting injustice. You are gaslighting us.
Airlines Should Ban This Behavior, Not Enable It
Airlines have every right to set standards for onboard conduct, especially in premium cabins where customers are paying for privacy, calm, and a certain level of decorum. Turning a flight into a loud, performative content shoot is the opposite of that.
I understand the tension here because passengers certainly want to capture unique moments like flying in La Premiere, which many consider the best overall first class product in the world. But there has to be a line. If your “content” comes at the expense of other passengers’ comfort and privacy, then you should not be flying in that cabin. A crying baby is bad enough, but this is not another human being who cannot help it, but an adult who should know better.
Yes, I realize Air France might be reluctant to ban anyone with status, money, or a following, especially when he so freely pulls the racism card. But rules that only apply to ordinary passengers or are not enforced are not rules. Please Ben Smith, this guy should not be allowed back in first class on Air France…
CONCLUSION
This was not legitimate “content creation.” This was obnoxious behavior dressed up as entrepreneurship, capped off with an accusation that is too serious to be used as a get-out-of-jail-free card. What a loser.
If you want to film your trip, film your trip. Do not film other people. Do not disturb the cabin. And if someone asks you to stop filming them, you stop. There was no need for drama here and I find it hard to blame the French passengers with the edited video we have, especially after Plummer’s recent conduct on Cathay Pacific.
Hear, hear, Matthew. Thank you for calling this behavior out for what it is.
Typical. Cry about “racism” when confronted with a demand for basic human decency like not filming someone when they ask not to be filmed. Also, the concept of “inside voice” seems to be virtually unknown to a certain demographic.
If you’re implying that all blacks are like that, that’s very foolish.
It’s interesting that it appears black folks are coming out against him because he says, “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,” (as if to say being a rapper or athelte are not legit).
By „a certain demographic” I was referring to wannabe influencers – not once have I mentioned race.
Stop giving these assholes the attention they crave. They are a cancer on our society and YOU are the reason they exist.
No, unless they are called out, they will continue to perform so poorly. I suspect this guy is going to be a lot more careful going forward.
Ban the N! Who gives a sh*t who he is. Frankly, I’ve never heard of him
Why does every time I write about one black guy bring out the racists?
That was a rhetorical question, no?
Sad, entitlement is off the charts.
Proves again that money can’t buy class.
I winced when I read you saying “the racism card”. You used it completely appropriately but it’s become a dog whistle for people who really are racist. Wait for more comments and you’ll see what I mean.
That said, I intensely loathe influencers of any type and this idiot exemplifies why. People like this are the reason airlines should have a shared database of no-fly-due-to-misbehavior passengers. Since this guy gets off by being an a$$hat on camera, let him do it on a private jet where the only outside victims are at least being paid to be harassed.
He’s not anything close to wealthy enough to fly private across the Atlantic. He and his crew need to learn some manners, and realise: as I commented on another board; that life is not just one long night at the club. Once you can conduct yourself like a grown, civilised man in shared spaces, you’ll probably attract far less unwanted attention.
Shame on Air France. The crew should have intervened and told him, point blank, no filming, no noise, sit down and behave yourself or we are diverting.
What is an influencer exactly? If their behavior and activity on a commercial flight is intended to generate income (i.e., videotaping and performing in front of a camera vs. taking still photography) I would imagine the airline(s) already has/have a process in place to permit (or most likely not permit) such behavior. I imagine flight attendants will not be excited to enforce such policies, but will need to do so before it gets out of hand.
Crying “racism!” when you’re called-out for boorish, antisocial behaviour is something less than pathetic. Way to live up to the “ghetto” stereotype, Lemuel. No wonder there are so many black people dissing you.
Why is this person not on a European no-fly list?
Stop calling people ‘influencers’ when they’re just narcissists. It’s all about them, not the airline. I fly first class regularly and always inform the crew if I see someone starting to record, as I don’t want filming to take place. Of course, videos for personal use are fine. I think it’s time for airlines to ban ‘flight reviews’ and influencers doing their 1,001 take on Emirates First Class, TikTok yoga, and so on. The situation has completely spun out of control because people no longer have any manners or consideration for others. (Thank God it’s a very different story in some Asian countries.)
It’s a shame that even on Air France La premiere with only the curtain, it’s impossible to have privacy when having a group like that flying with you. One more reason to love the Gamechanger from Emirates, complete privacy…
I’m fairly certain I’ve been on a flight with the French man – he is an Ultimate member from Nantes with a lot of pull at the airline. He is also a (I forget the French title) essentially a passenger that Air France directly solicits feedback from on upcoming product launches. I hope he is well compensated for the undignified behavior of his fellow LP passengers.
*deep sigh*