A former Alaska Airlines flight attendant is running a GoFundMe after losing her job over a now-viral TikTok twerking video. Nelle Diala had worked for the carrier for just over six months before being terminated for breaching the company’s social media guidelines.
She filmed the 20-second dance clip early in the morning while waiting two hours for pilots, and was celebrating the end of her new hire probationary period. Her original TikTok carried the caption: “Ghetto Till I Die, Don’t Let the Uniform Fool You.” Some viewers called for her dismissal, describing her behavior as inappropriate for someone in airline uniform.
Later, Diala reposted the video with new commentary:
Can’t even be yourself anymore without the world being so sensitive. What’s wrong with a little twerk before work?
She used the hashtag #discriminationisreal. And she was fired, in her telling, without any formal opportunity to present her side of the story (the video did that for her, I imagine).
Diala says she cherished her flight attendant job at Alaska because of her passion for meeting new people, exploring the world, and ensuring that passengers had a safe, welcoming environment – and because it helped to fund her lingerie and dessert business, which she operates under the handles @cakezncake (which doesn’t appear to have any content?) and @figure8.lingerie.
Now she seeks $12,000 in GoFundMe donations while she seeks new employment. So far she’s raised… $70.
Diala acknowledges that posting the video was a lapse in judgment, but says she didn’t intend any harm—nor did she mention her employer by name in the clip (the uniform, on board the aircraft, though…). She was surprised to be terminated so quickly, and still hopes to have a career in aviation.
I’ve always been careful about what I post, and I never thought this video would cost me my career.
In the meantime, she intends to devote more attention to her lingerie and dessert ventures.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
FAFO is really a thing
But aren’t they Union? What did AFA do or say about this? Fired for just one act?
Welcome to the real world. She’ll be on OnlyFans shortly.
Looks like she’ll get her wish to be “ghetto” till she dies. Probably best for everyone.
Ghetto til I die – nothing truer was ever spoken!
Professionalism, dignity and adulthood used to be a thing in this country.
Welcome to the new Alaska (post VX and Covid) Airlines
If I understand correctly, if she were instead white (like, blonde hair, blue eyes), it would not matter what style of dance, say an Irish jig, or what hashtag, say #catholicforlife, because, under the policy she allegedly violated, the problem is her posting anything to social media while in uniform without corporate approval, right?
That’s a racist comment, @1990. Race has nothing to do with what she did, or what happened to her.
The short video I saw looked more like a dance than twerking.
I’m not sure what the fuss is…
Is that a Alaska trunkline jet (3 seats each side of the aisle) or a Horizon/SkyWest regional jet (2 seats each side of the aisle)??
Me thinks she really works for one of the regional carriers of Alaska. Title of article might be a little misleading.
She filmed the 20-second dance clip early in the morning while waiting two hours for pilots, and was celebrating the end of her new hire probationary period. Her original TikTok carried the caption: “Ghetto Till I Die, Don’t Let the Uniform Fool You.”
–> Maybe she could have helped clean the plane and ensure that there is no garbage left in any of the seat pocket in the cabin. Just sayin’
Nothing racist here. The FA was simply being unprofessional.
@ Gennady. I’ve stopped reading anything the commenter above your posts. There was a time when some of the posted opinions were civil and made valid points. That time has departed. 1990’s comments are more often than not race baiting racists remarks. It is, in a word, garbage.
This was harmless.
Apparently, her union didn’t think much of it either.
She wants to convey her employer is ghetto and then she’s shocked when she gets sacked. A product of our very fine public education system.
Think of the wonderful, classy black women that finally got airlines to hire black flight attendants. And this moron goes and plays into the stereotype they fought so hard to get rid of.
@Gennady You said, “Race has nothing to do with what she did, or what happened to her.”
From Gary’s post: “She used the hashtag #discriminationisreal.” …Right.
The bigger picture is that her expression (twerking) and her speech (the ‘ghetto’ reference, which has racial and historic connotations–c’mon) was not the problem here.
The actual issue is that a flight attendant posted something on social media, while on duty, without approval of her employer.
So, like I said, it wouldn’t matter her specific race, speech, or expression.
And, yeah, you took my bait, and needlessly got offended, which is fun, for me at least. @One Trippe knows the drill by now–and buddy, my points here are still valid, arguably, somewhat civil.
Look back at the other commenters with their quick racial or sexist comments. I don’t care, do you? Gary has proven to be a ‘free speech absolutist’ and rarely if ever does he micro-manage or moderate these comment sections. If you’re looking for a more ‘serious’ place, this is not it, son.
Don’t do crap in uniform, no matter what your job is. That’s the moral of the story. Sure, some are protected than others, but you’re not in a police union, so you don’t get to do those things. Right or wrong, life ain’t fair, so don’t do stupid crap that increases your odds of negative outcomes. It’s employee 101
people people people…why do this in your uniform, on a company plane….don’t you think they want to protect their brand that they spend millions on in advertising? I don’t think this is the image they want of their attendants.
It just shows a lack of professional judgement and poor mentoring. Onto to her next career job, I hope she learned the valuable lesson here regarding using corporately owned ip for her own benefit. I’m sure in her work training, there was a briefing, document, etc on social media.
She needs to put in an application at Southwest Airlines. They have a couple of flight attendants that have done these types of videos.
SWA understands that these videos can bring traffic to their site and get people to want to fly on their airline.
What she is really guilty of is lack of judgement and awareness. I’m sure she was happy…sure she was psyched…but she just had to show us on social media? In uniform? On the plane???
Young adults…please understand the internet is only good for two things: making travel reservations and looking up who played Uncle Joe on Petticoat Junction. That’s it!
You can’t teach stupid.
When I was growing up, Southwest Airlines flight attendants wore hot pants, but that was per corporate requirements. Some could make a moral argument against that, but I don’t and I don’t have a moral argument against this flight attendant. The only problem was that she went against corporate requirements and that is a firing offense. I hope she bounces back and finds a lucrative and fulfilling career.
Don’t let that ass hit you in the door on your way out.
my kind of flight attendant
Illegal use of company property she should have twerking is better done at home or even in her hotel room but not on the job.
Union scum being Union scum.
I’d take that flight attendant for a ride.
She can apply at Spirit. She’d fit right in with the other ghetto crew members and criminal passengers.
Glad Alaska got rid of her trashy a**. She belongs at Spirits or Frontier.
When you’re at the workplace and in uniform, you represent the company. If the company feels you don’t match the brand with published actions on the internet, there are consequences. Stupid move.
Call me old fashioned, but “Ghetto” isn’t something I want in a flight attendant.
Very damaging to Alaska’s brand (even if they’re no longer handing out prayer cards on their meal trays).
Not sure what the fuss is or why she got fired. The plane was empty!!! There sure are a bunch of uptight posters on this site.
If Beyoncé wanted to be a spokesperson for the airline for free they would be all over it ! The girl did a dance. A dance that’s less girating than Elvis back in the day n no one has a problem w Elvis
Pretty sure Alaska Airlines doesn’t want to have this image. Professionalism. Why post things like this? Sure have fun at your own time, but pretty sure she’s on the clock. An airplane is not a dance club. Nobody is paying her to dance and certainly not to post on social media about it.
I think over my 30-plus year career (yes, I’m a GenXer) I’ve seen a change in what acceptable dress and behavior at work consists of. Most of that change has been welcome–think no requirement for women to wear dresses/skirts or men to wear suits every day, the decline in the acceptability of “harmless” sexualization and harassment of women, and the decline in formality between workers and management. That being said, it is never acceptable–and indeed harmful–to engage in sexualized behavior at work, or when in a company uniform. You represent the company, not yourself. No one should protest her right to be herself, but she has to be her best, most presentable, self when she’s representing the company–as she is when she’s in uniform, anywhere, any time. She should be terminated because she failed to represent the company professionally by engaging in sexualized behavior on the job or while in uniform.
sooo why are we angry about this?
Wasn’t there just a post here recently that complained today’s generation of attendants are unprofessional?
I have said before, a flight attendant for major US carrier made provocative photos of her in the aircraft while in uniform. She was careful to take her name tag and other identification from her uniform. However, she failed to recognize that the uniform was distinctly her employer’s brand. The give away was the seat upholstery that had the company logo emblazoned! She was fired and rightly so.
1990 Poster. Stop with the racial whining. Yes, if she were doing a irish jig, and was white, and was showing her gigantic but tight in pulled up employee uniform, YES SHE WOULD BE FIRED. These are new hires. Guaranteed on my life they all have a full social media training where they are told to never post crap like that, even an irish jig or a walz, with your too tight skin tight dress hiked up. Wake up 1990. Get off the race train.
Yo! Gurrrrrl. If ya gonna twerk, at least doesn’t twerk whahle fat. Make aht easy on our eyes. Yo! ya get me