Tiffany Gomas returns to Instagram after viral plane meltdown: ‘One moment doesn’t define you’

‘Using a meltdown to get famous and continuously posting about it,’ one critic says

Tiffany Gomas has returned to Instagram after sharing an apology last week over her tirade on an American Airlines flight.

"One moment doesn’t define you; but it can define your purpose," the marketing executive wrote in an Instagram post on Sunday. The 38 year old became recognisable after claimimg to see a passenger who was “not real” while aboard an American Airlines flight. A video of the outburst was uploaded to TikTok in July.

Gomas’ latest social media post showed the marketing executive dolled up for a photoshoot wearing a white T-shirt and wide-legged jeans as she sat barefoot on a kitchen floor. The post has more than 18,000 likes as of 21 August, while the comments have been limtied.

The post comes after Gomas released an apology video across her social media platforms last week, in which she’d apologised for her meltdown. “I apologise and take accountability for my actions, they were uncalled for,” the post’s caption began. “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 been life-altering and I hope to do good from it and promote positive mental health. Stay tuned!”

As for her recent post, comments are divided, with many curious about what exactly Gomas’s intention were. Some comments accused her of using the viral video as a means to become internet famous. Since the meltdown went viral, the marketing executive has gained more than 100,000 followers on Twitter and over 75,000 Instagram followers.

“Using a meltdown to get famous and continuously posting about it,” one comment wrote on her recent post. “Wait so now she is monetising all this after acting like a victim in her last video?” another comment asked.

Other commenters questioned whether or not Gomas was in the photo at all. “I’m telling you right now this isn’t the same lady from the plane,” one person wrote. “Not the same woman…” another agreed.

“I don’t believe this is the same individual,” a third commenter wrote.

A third category of comments were fixated on what happened on the plane. Since the original video was posted on 2 July, additional information has come out through bodycam footage. The footage showed Gomas storming off the plane and calling airline employees “f***ing delusional” as they attempted to ask her for her ID.

During the confrontation, Gomas, who was on the phone with her mother, could be heard telling her that the employees were “recording her” as her mother was heard telling her to calm down. “You know me, Mom, that plane is going down,” she responded.

The two officers told Gomas that they were “trying to help” as they continued to escort her from Dallas Airport’s airside area for passengers to board. She proceeded to say that she “wants to get the f*** outta here” before calling the officers “motherf*****s” for asking for her boarding pass. Gomas then began to claim the flight won’t “make it to Orlando” and that the “flight will f***ing blow up”.

Comments on the recent post were still looking for an explanation on what made her make this claim. “What did you see? No one wanted to hear you say sorry lol,” one comment read. “WTF WASN’T REAL!?!?” another comment asked.

The Independent has contacted Gomas for comment.