United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby's viral ‘drag queen’ video sparks outrage

Scott Kirby, the CEO of United Airlines is facing severe backlash after a video of him dancing while dressed as a drag queen resurfaced on social media

Scott Kirby, the CEO of United Airlines, is facing severe backlash after a video of him dancing while dressed as a drag queen has resurfaced online. Recently, the 56-year-old was heavily criticised for a 2021 interview where he explained his company's diversity initiatives. After the years-old video went viral on social media, Kirby raised many eyebrows about the efficiency of workers at United Airlines and the safety of its flights.

Scott Kirby, the CEO of United Airlines is facing heavy criticism for viral 'drag queen' video

Scott Kirby under fire as resurfaced ‘drag queen' video goes viral

The viral video was shared on X, formerly Twitter, via Libs of TikTok along with the message, “This is Scott Kirby, the CEO of @united. He’s a drag queen and has been incorporating drag into @united. This video should tell you everything you need to know.” Within just three hours, the video amassed 2.7 million views on the platform, sparking outrage among netizens.

Just days earlier, Kirby's statements from his now-viral 2021 interview drew heavy criticism from netizens. In the video, he asserted that his company was committed to ensuring that 50 percent of their hires should be women or people of colour.

“One of the things we do is for every job, when we do an interview, we require women and people of color to be involved in the interview process, bringing people in early in their careers as well and giving them those opportunities, uh, and creating a stronger bench,” Kirby said in the interview, per Fox News.

Kirby's statement and his company's diversity policy were heavily criticised by many. In response to the video, billionaire Elon Musk wrote, “This is messed up.” Centre for Security Policy Senior Analyst J Michael Waller wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “He can always set a good example and resign immediately, leaving his high-paid position, salary, bonuses and stock options to someone more diverse.”

Netizens furious over Kirby's ‘drag’ video

One X user wrote, “This video makes one thing abundantly clear, don’t fly @united. Scott Kirby is losing the airline a lot of money by pushing his bizarre personal life onto his employees. I don’t see how United keeps him as CEO if they want to stay in business.”

Another user wrote, “Here’s Kirby LARPing as a CEO, assuring us that he’s going to DEI the heck out of United’s cockpits.” Yet another user said, “Is this satire? Your telling me this is the CEO of one of the largest airlines in the world? Jesus Christ help us.”