How an American Airlines passenger went from virtually unknown, to the meme of the moment, to winning the support of viewers — in just 6 weeks

• An outburst on an American Airlines flight turned Tiffany Gomas into the internet’s main character.
• The video blew up, her identity was revealed, and she’s now joined YouTube to tell her story.
• Here’s how Gomas’ life was turned upside down due to sudden TikTok virality.

In July, a video of a woman’soutburst on an American Airlines flightwas captured on video and posted to TikTok.

The clip quickly went viral, spawning criticism, jokes, and memes, and the woman was identified as Texas-based marketing executive Tiffany Gomas.

Gomas went on to say the episode wrecked her life, but she’s come back to the internet to tell her side of the story, and it seems like she’s looking to make the most out of her experience, as viewers are showing newfound support for her.

Here’s how the twisty saga of sudden online virality unfolded.

Gomas went viral after she was filmed accusing a fellow American Airlines passenger of being “not real.”

People first heard about Gomas when a since-deletedTikTok videoof her outburst on an American Airlines flight was uploaded on July 3, and quickly went mega-viral, receiving over 15 millions views.

“There’s a reason why I’m getting the fuck off, and everyone can either believe it or they can not believe it,” said a visibly distressed Gomas in the video, filmed on what appeared to be a plane.

“But I am telling you right now, that motherfucker back there is not real,” Gomas said while pointing toward the back of the plane.

American Airlines told Insider that the incident took place on a flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Orlando. The airline said the plane had to be “returned to the gate due to a disruptive customer” and local law enforcement was called to the scene.

In the days and weeks afterGomas’ outburst went viral, users beganspeculatingabout why she might have been suspicious of her fellow passenger, and why she thought he was “not real.” It sparked anumberofmemesas people made joking suggestions about who the person she was pointing at was.

Among them were pictures and GIFs of Pinnocchio, human dummies, or a screenshotfrom a scene in the 2002 “Scooby-Doo” movie where Scooby is dressed up like a human aboard an airplane.

Twitter users began dubbing Gomas the “crazy plane lady,” and audio from her mini-speech became a popular sound on TikTok, used to point out things that users are skeptical of.

For example, when sun bears became a viral topic of discussion in late July after a zoo in China denied rumors it was using humans in animal costumes instead of real bears, a number of TikTokers used audio and visualsof Gomas to express their suspicion of the human-like bears.

Gomas said her life was wrecked after her identity and details about her life were revealed.

Gomas’s identity wasn’t public when the TikTok video of her was posted online.

However, the New York Post later published her name and details about her occupation and address on August 7.

Gomas said the report ruined her life.

“My life has been blown up. It’s frightening. Things go viral, and everything changes,” Gomas told the Daily Mail an article published on August 10.

“They’re staking out my house. They’re staking out my neighbors. They’re going through my mail,” Gomas said without specifying who she was referring to.

Gomas attempted to clear the air via an apology video that she uploaded to YouTube on Sunday.

The video was also posted to Gomas’ X(formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTokaccounts.

“It’s me, Tiffany Gomas, probably better known as the ‘Crazy Plane Lady,’ which is completely warranted,” Gomas said at the start of her video.

In her video, Gomas apologized for using profanities and losing control of her emotions on the plane. She said that she did find some of the memes of her outburst humorous.

“While it has been really comical for everyone, and I have highly enjoyed so many of the memes — on the flip side, it is very invasive and unkind,” Gomas said.

Comments underneath Gomas’ YouTube video have been turned off, but on other platforms some users sent Gomas their well wishes of support, saying they did not feel she needed to apologize for her outburst.

Others begged Gomas to share more details about what she saw on the plane, and some suggested they felt there was more to the story regarding what exactly Gomas saw.

“No need for an apology girl! we genuinely are glad you’re safe, but what we want is an explanation as to what happened,” read one TikTok comment.

In her video, Gomas also talked about finding a way to “use this experience and do a little bit of good in the world.”

Her video ended with a line of text asking viewers to support her journey to promote mental wellness and to stand up against cyberbullying. The text also included a link to Gomas’ website, which currently only contains links to her apology video and social media accounts.

Gomas did not elaborate in her video on how she intended to go about championing mental wellness.

“This experience has been life-altering and I hope to do good from it and promote positive mental health. Stay tuned!” Gomas wrote in the caption of her apology video.

“Stay Tuned” — a masterclass in keeping them guessing.

I apologize and take accountability for my actions, they were uncalled for. My very worst moment was captured on video. Although the memes have been amusing, the flipside has been cruel. I’m thankful for my friends and family for supporting me through this. This experience has… pic.twitter.com/0AfQcaEzj0

— Tiffany Gomas (@Tiffany_Gomas) August 13, 2023

Gomas has left viewers in a state of suspense, waiting for more updates and developments about what she will say or to do next.

Her emergence in the public eye as a result of her statement has gotten her a lot of followers in a short amount of time. Her YouTube account, created in August, and her X account, created in July, now have 3,100 subscribers and 110,000 followers respectively. Her TikTok statement, which is currently her only post on the app, has 180,000 views, and she has more than 10,000 followers on the platform.

Her website, tiffanygomas.com, which she has linked to in her X profile, so far only features her embedded YouTube statement with another “Stay Tuned” caption underneath.

It seems that we haven’t seen the last of Gomas, and if she does indeed leverage this moment into a future as a content creator, she won’t have been the only person to have made use of new opportunities after finding unexpected online fame.

In 2022, a then 7-year-old boy named Tariq became known as the “Corn Kid” after a video of him explaining his love for the vegetable turned him into a viral sensation.

After he exploded into internet fame, Tariq went on to star in a TikTok with MrBeast, who is now the biggest individual YouTuber in the world, and he also collaborated with City Harvest to donate 90,000 cans of vegetables, including 50,000 corn cans, to people in New York ahead of Thanksgiving, among other opportunities.

Many influencers have also survived scandals and controversies. YouTubersTana Mongeau,Logan Paul, andTrisha Paytasare among those who famously bounced back from high-profile backlash.

We’ll have to stay tuned to see if Gomas — who until just weeks ago was an unknown figure — can do the same.