Last night, Arab- American Muslim YouTube Star, Adam Saleh, posted a video of him being kicked out of a plane for speaking in Arabic. The airline company that manages the aircraft Saleh was thrown off, Delta Airlines, made a statement that they removed him from the flight mainly because the people around him felt ‘uncomfortable’ with him speaking in Arabic.

For a background on the incident, see:

This Is Why The Whole World Is Standing Up In Support Of This Muslim YouTube Star

The YouTube celebrity filmed the entire scene and put it on Twitter. Since then, his tweet has been retweeted more than 700 thousand times.

We got kicked out of a @Delta airplane because I spoke Arabic to my mom on the phone and with my friend slim… WTFFFFFFFF please spread pic.twitter.com/P5dQCE0qos

— Adam Saleh (@omgAdamSaleh) December 21, 2016

However, people are now raising doubts over the authenticity of Saleh’s claims because of his prankster past.

The Muslim YouTube star is famous for his prank videos, in the past and a number of people are attributing the aforementioned incident to his practical joke past.

Lol I'm dying… He got busted again for lying ????? pic.twitter.com/xI5VNROPTO

— Protein Shaykh (@ProteinShaykh) December 20, 2016

Adam Saleh, however, claims that he indeed has played several pranks in the past but this incident was no prank and it was “as real as it gets.” 

He tweeted a statement, after he was accused of playing yet another prank. According to Mr. Saleh, the incident may look like a case of of the ‘boy who cried wolf’ but this time around, it was actually pretty real.

Thank you for all your support pic.twitter.com/ukQ4EGVQ6r

— Adam Saleh (@omgAdamSaleh) December 22, 2016

According to the official statement released by the Delta Airlines, Adam Saleh and his friend were removed because they were causing disruption inside the cabin.

“We take all allegations of discrimination seriously and we are gathering all of the facts before jumping to any conclusion. Our culture requires treating everyone with respect. Furthermore, Delta people are trained to and frequently handle conflicts between passengers. Two customers were removed from Delta Flight 1 departing London-Heathrow today after a disturbance in the cabin resulted in more than 20 customers expressing their discomfort.We have spoken with the customers who were removed; they were rebooked on another flight. Plans are in place to immediately speak with our crew and other passengers when the flight lands this afternoon,” said Delta Airlines in an earlier statement.

Later in the day, the airline released an updated statement, clarifying their stance after “investigating” the incident

“Upon landing the crew was debriefed and multiple passenger statements collected. Based on the information collected to date, it appears the customers who were removed sought to disrupt the cabin with provocative behavior, including shouting. This type of conduct is not welcome on any Delta flight. While one, according to media reports, is a known prankster who was video recorded and encouraged by his traveling companion, what is paramount to Delta is the safety and comfort of our passengers and employees. It is clear these individuals sought to violate that priority.”

According to New York Times,  a spokeswoman for London’s Metropolitan Police, Camilla Goodman, has confirmed that Adam and his friend weren’t arrested and they “didn’t do anything lawfully wrong.”

According to Mr. Saleh’s version of how the event unfolded, he spoke to his mother over the phone in Arabic and after the call, kept talking to his friend in the same language for a while. A woman sitting near them asked him to speak in English as it was making her uncomfortable. Mr. Saleh says that they felt like terrorists in that moment.

Mr. Saleh’s friend Slim Albaher has also applauded the New York Times for their unbiased reporting in the following tweet.

Thank you NY times for interviewing the people who WEREN'T RACIST against us! pic.twitter.com/ByoEDcnXVe

— Slim Albaher (@SlimmySlim94) December 22, 2016

On the face of it, going with the London Metropolitan Police’s spokesperson’s comments as well as the way the incident has unfolded, it does seem like a classic case of Islamphobia and racial profiling on the part of Delta Airlines. If Adam’s past as a prankster is to be factored in, then Delta’s previous incidents of Muslims having been escorted off airplanes can’t also be ignored. The world’s increasing, and swift, race toward becoming intolerant is scary, regardless.

Cover Image Via: Red Alert Politics