Tantrums, threats and public urination – celebs’ most shocking mid-air meltdowns
Kate Moss called a pilot a “basic b***h”, Katie Price and Naomi Campbell got kicked off flights, while another star peed in a bottle – until it overflowed.
When travelling on a busy commercial plane, the last thing you’d expect to see is a celebrity having a full-on tantrum.
But a surprising number of stars are part of the mile-high-meltdown club – with English singer Lee Ryan allegedly the latest member.
The Blue singer was marched off a BA flight by police after he allegedly “went berserk” during a flight from Glasgow to London City, delaying it by 20 minutes, The Sun reports.
Here we reveal the most outrageous celebrity cabin clashes – from Katie Price’s row with crew over wearing a mask to Towie stars booted off a plane for “lunatic” behaviour.
Kate Moss – Bodrum to Luton
Supermodel Kate, 48, was on her way back from celebrating actress Sadie Frost’s 50th birthday in Turkey in 2015 when it all kicked off on her flight.
Kate allegedly got into trouble after she necked vodka from her cabin baggage and got into a row over the price of booze on the flight.
Apparently, she called the pilot a “basic b***h” and was escorted off the easyJet flight by police when it landed back in the UK.
Police confirmed they’d been called to deal with a “disruptive” passenger, but she was not arrested.
In Kate’s defence, passengers who witnessed the row said the cabin crew’s reaction was a bit over the top.
Naomi Campbell – London to Los Angeles
Naomi Campbell’s bust-ups are almost as legendary as her incredible modelling career.
In 2008, the catwalk queen, 52, was arrested at London Heathrow after she got into a spat with British Airways staff over her lost luggage.
Apparently, her bags were among several that hadn’t been loaded onto the plane, which allegedly sent Naomi into a rage.
According to reports, the model refused to get off the plane, yelled abuse at crew members and demanded the apologetic captain go and look for her suitcase.
Eventually police boarded the plane and she was dragged off in handcuffs before being arrested for assaulting two officers.
She was handed a 200-hour community service sentence and fined £2300 ($AUD4000).
Liam Gallagher – Hong Kong to Perth
The former Oasis frontman, 49, has been at the centre of many controversies during his illustrious career.
One of his standout scandals was when he ended up being banned for life by Cathay Pacific Airways after his rowdy behaviour on a flight in 1998.
He is said to have been seen smoking, was rude to flight attendants and hurled objects at fellow passengers.
Bizarrely, the singer also allegedly threatened the pilot with a scone he was served during the trip after he was offended by its shape.
Never one to hold back from speaking his mind, Liam hit back against the ban, saying he would rather walk than ever use the airline again.
Towie stars – Dominican Republic to London
Earlier this year, The Only Way Is Essex was plunged into turmoil when it emerged nine cast members were booted off a flight to London after filming in the Dominican Republic.
Among those in the mix were James ‘Diags’ Bennewith, Hannah Voyan, Pia Smith and Mia Sully.
They had initially boarded a flight to Spain but became disruptive when they began exhibiting “lunatic” behaviour.
Passengers claimed one of the stars was openly vaping while others refused to comply with airline rules including wearing a mask.
Repeated requests by cabin crew members for them to respect their directives were ignored.
Upon arrival in Spain, the group were spoken to by the police and denied access to board their connecting flight to London.
Sid Owen – Dubai to London
Former Eastenders star Sid, 50, had to be removed from a plane as he tried to jet home after a two-week holiday in Dubai in 2018.
It all began when he complained to a man in front of him for leaning back in his reclined seat.
According to the star, the man slapped him, which led to a fracas that delayed the British Airways flight by an hour.
After the two refused to be seated apart, they were both marched off the plane.
To rub salt in the wounds, passengers taunted the actor by shouting “Rickaay” as he left the plane – a reference to his Enders character’s wife Bianca’s popular screech.
Gerard Depardieu – Paris to Dublin
Many of us have been in the dire situation where we’re desperate for the toilet but unable to go.
This was the situation Life of Pi actor Gerard, 73, found himself in 2008, when on board a Cityjet flight to Ireland.
According to his friend Edouard Baer, Gerard had prostate problems, but flight attendants told him he had to hang on until the plane was airborne.
Not willing to take any chances, he promptly walked to the back of the cabin and urinated in a plastic bottle.
Unfortunately it overflowed and spilt onto the floor, which led to him being booted off the plane – delaying the flight by an hour.
The actor later apologised for the “humiliating” incident via a statement.
Ivana Trump – Palm Beach to New York
The ex-wife of former US president Donald Trump – who died last month – was not having it when noisy kids ran riot in her first-class cabin in 2009.
Ivana allegedly launched into a foul-mouthed rant at the youngsters, becoming more irate when flight attendants tried to calm her down.
When the pilot asked her to step off the plane, Ivana refused and had to be physically escorted back to the terminal.
A police spokesman later said: “From the initial contact until Miss Trump left the property, she was saying “f*** you” to all the deputies and called the children “little f******”.
Gemma Collins – Athens to London
It seems the issue of reclining seats is one of the biggest catalysts for mid-air bust-ups.
UK reality star Gemma Collins was on a flight back to the UK in 2019 when she wanted to get some sleep by resting her head on the seat in front of her.
The problem was the 41-year-old reality star was convinced the passenger in front was reclining in her seat.
An onlooker claimed Gemma got cross with the woman, who did not speak much English, and screamed: “What the f**k are you doing babe?”
When the apologetic woman claimed she hadn’t tilted her seat back, Gemma raged: “Stop f*****g moving, just leave it, it’s fine.”
Katie Price – New York to Las Vegas
Katie Price, 44, was escorted off a connecting flight from New York to Vegas after she refused to wear a mask.
The model was allegedly asked by cabin crew members to wear a face covering on four separate occasions but wasn’t having it.
A fellow passenger wrote on Twitter: “@KatiePrice Just got thrown off our flight from New York to Las Vegas with her boyfriend! So annoying and embarrassing. Wear your bloody mask was it worth it …”
They added that Katie’s boyfriend Carl Woods looked “mortified”.
However, a close friend claimed Katie chose to leave the flight as she hadn’t finished speaking to her kids on the phone when she was asked to put on her mask.
Courtney Love – Los Angeles to London
Courtney Love has not been one to follow many rules – a trend which continued during a flight to London in 2003.
The singer is said to have thrown a massive tantrum and verbally abused flight attendants.
She apparently refused to sit down and fasten her seatbelt, and become so disruptive that police had to be called.
The rebel was ushered into a waiting police van within 20 minutes after the flight touched down at Heathrow.
Alec Baldwin – Los Angeles to New York
It’s well known that electronic devices must be switched off for take off and landing when on a plane.
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But Alec Baldwin must have not got the memo, as he refused to turn off his phone for take off at LAX.
After being asked on multiple occasions and holding up the flight, the plane had to taxi back to the gate, where he was removed. Alec claimed he’d been playing the scrabble game Words with Friends while he sat at the gate before he was “reamed” out.
This story originally appeared on The Sun and is republished here with permission.
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