Forrie J. Smith, the actor famous for his role as ranch hand Lloyd Pierce in “Yellowstone,” claimed in a post to Instagram that he was kicked off of a flight out of Houston, Texas when he refused to be seated next to a passenger on the plane who was wearing a mask. That left Smith stranded in the Houston airport, from where he posted the video.
In the video post, which he captioned by saying, “You need to hear this story. #cowboy #country #western #yellowstone #yellowstonetv,” Smith began by complaining that he can’t say what he wants face to face, saying, “You know my social media people tell me that you like me face to face, but you know what I can’t say face to face what I want.”
Continuing, Smith explained the situation, saying that he was kicked off of the plane after he told “them,” by which he presumably meant a flight attendant or another member of the airline staff, that he did not want to sit next to a passenger with a mask. He said, “I just got kicked off a plane, and … where the hell am I at – Houston, Texas – because I told them I didn’t feel comfortable sitting next to somebody with a mask on.”
He then admitted that he had a few drinks before getting on the plane, but that he was not drunk, which is what “they,” again presumably meaning the flight staff, claimed when they removed him from the plane. “Ya, I’ve been drinking. I’ve been sitting in an airport for three hours. Ya I’m drinking. I ain’t drunk, but they throw me off the plane because I’m drunk, because you people won’t stand up and tell everybody what bulls–t this is,” Smith said.
Smith emphasized that he was not acting in a belligerent way because he had a few drinks while waiting at the airport, but rather that he was uncomfortable with the idea of sitting next to a masked individual. He said, “I just told them I didn’t feel comfortable about sitting next to somebody that had to wear a mask, and I’m off the plane.”
Commenting on the video, people pointed out that the person could have had a health condition that made wearing a mask necessary from a health perspective, saying things like, “NGL….. lost some respect. What if this person was visiting a sick family member and was just being extra safe. Always be kind…. You never know what they might be going through” and “How do you know that person doesn’t have cancer and just is going through chemotherapy treatments or something else that warrants them wearing one? Free Country 
”
Watch Smith here:
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This isn’t the first time that Smith has spoken about such situations. In February of 2022, he did not attend the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Explaining why in a since-deleted Instagram video, he said, “I want to apologize to y’all for not being at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.” He continued, “I mean no offense to anyone. I’m not vaccinated, and it’s a requirement to be vaccinated.”
Watch him here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video