An Alaska Airlines flight attendant has opened up about being fired from her job after posting a video of her twerking while in uniform.
Nelle Diala decided to celebrate the end of her required six-month probationary period by posting a now-private TikTok of her on an empty plane while she twerked with a caption that read, “Ghetto Till I Die, Don’t Let the Uniform Fool You.”
In an interview with Inside Edition last week, Diala revealed that the airline cited a violation of their social media policy as the reason for her dismissal.
“I put on a proud face every time I stepped on that plane and for them to terminate me without giving me a chance, it just was unfair,” she said. “I was really proud of myself that I came so far. I just didn’t think my video and my post and the way I was dancing would be deemed as inappropriate.”
Diala also said in a post seen by the Daily Mail that the airline “did discriminate” against her because the dance was “geared toward the urban community.”
“So, of course, the company would like to embrace ‘all cultures’ but leave the minority girl from the ghetto OUT,” she added.
Back in January, Diala launched a GoFundMe page asking people to help support her amid her sudden unemployment. The fundraiser has since closed after raising a total of $3,312.
“The video went viral overnight, but instead of love and support, it brought unexpected scrutiny. Although it was a poor decision on my behalf I didn’t think it would cost me my dream job,” she said in the page’s description.
“Although this was my dream job I was using the income to fund my blossoming lingerie and dessert business,” she added.
The former flight attendant clarified that no one was on the plane at the time because the video was recorded during a layover and she was trying to “hype” herself up.
“It was a harmless clip that was recorded at 6 a.m. while waiting two hours for pilots,” she said. “I decided to just take advantage of the moment to wake myself up and get myself hyped up for my day.”
In a statement to The Independent, Alaska Airlines said: “While we don’t comment on personnel matters, we hold all flight attendants to high standards for conduct and guest care. All new flight attendants are subject to probationary periods, just like all Alaska Airlines employees.”
She didn’t mention the name of the airline in the video and didn’t think it would cause her to lose her job, Diala said. “I never thought a single moment would cost me everything.”
