Daniel Kaluuya gave a television interview in Eugene, Oregon after being stranded. The 37-year-old Get Out star and actor Tyriq Withers, 28, were among the passengers stranded after the FAA grounded flights across the country. They were forced to deboard a Los Angeles-bound flight. Their chat with KVAL News has gone viral.
Daniel Kaluuya and Withers Stranded at Eugene Airport Amid Flight Grounding
Both actors were on a flight headed to Los Angeles. Then everyone had to get off. Page Six described Eugene Airport as descending into chaos as the nationwide ground stop took hold.
Just before 4 p.m. Friday, the FAA announced the stop, according to Page Six, citing “extraordinary circumstances” and safety. Planes across the US stayed put. So did a lot of people with somewhere else to be.
Kaluuya and Withers were two of them. A local news reporter with a microphone found them.
Tyriq Withers References Viral Meme During Interview
Withers spoke first. “I just want to thank God and the FAA for protecting us,” he said, then tacked on a nod to the blue wave. Just Jared and Page Six both read that as a reference to Democrats sweeping the midterm elections. Page Six noted the party took control of both the House and the Senate.
He kept going. Withers said the situation was upsetting him and his homegirl, because if you can’t go to the airport, where else is there to go?
Withers, who stars in Him and Reminders of Him, referenced the “Bella Noche” meme during a viral interview. He swapped the club for an airport. Page Six reported that the reporter could not help laughing before turning the microphone over to Kaluuya.
Have you ever been stranded at an airport when flights got grounded?
Kaluuya Expresses Gratitude for Safety Measures Taken
Daniel Kaluuya went the other way entirely. “Obviously, it’s an inconvenience, but I feel grateful,” he told KVAL. He followed that with a thought about how many lives the FAA’s decision had probably saved.
Same flight. Same airport. Same cancelled evening. One man reached for a meme and the other reached for perspective, and the clip works precisely because both answers sit side by side.
Neither man contradicted the other. Withers opened with thanks before the joke. Kaluuya admitted the hassle before the gratitude. Two people stuck in the same bad moment, each handling it in his own register, and neither trying to talk the other out of it. Pairs who travel together for long enough tend to find that division of labour on their own. Somebody makes it funny. Somebody makes it make sense.
Plenty of stranded travelers that night would have settled for either.
The FAA Lifted the Ground Stop Later That Evening
The stop did not last long. Just Jared put the lift at about 8:15 PM EST. Page Six said just before 8:30 p.m., roughly four hours after it began, and after widespread delays and cancellations nationwide.
Kaluuya and Withers were not the only famous faces caught out. Brooks Nader, 29, was on a private jet in New York, “literally about to take off” for Louisiana and an LSU football game, according to TMZ as cited by Page Six. TMZ reported she was safe but stuck on the tarmac. Earlier that day she had posted a selfie with a peace sign and a countdown to Baton Rouge.
Neither actor has said when they finally made it to Los Angeles. The interview made the trip first.
Sources: Just Jared, Page Six
