Tom Earnshaw
A flight attendant who was fired by Alaska Airlines for twerking in a viral TikTok video filmed on one of their planes has explained why she did it before posting the clip to social media.
It comes as the US airline itself has issued a statement on why she was fired from her role with the company.
Nelle Diala had gone to work as she would do on any other day. With the plane empty before passengers got ready to board, the American cabin crew member decided to film herself dancing down the middle aisle of the plane before posting the video to TikTok.
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"I didn't think that being so happy can turn into something like this," Diala told US broadcaster Inside Edition.
"I decided to take advantage of the moment to wake myself up and get myself hyped up for my day."
Posting the video to the Chinese social media app, she captioned it with the words 'what's wrong with a little twerk before work'.
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With the video ending up going viral on TikTok, Diala saw the brief moment of internet fame result in very real world consequences after, she says, Alaska Airlines fired her.
Diala, who had been working for Alaska Airlines for six months, explained that she had been told she had broken the company's social media policy.
Saying she posted the video to celebrate the end of her probationary period with the firm, Diala said: "I was really proud of myself that I came so far.
"I didn't think that my video and my post, in the way I was dancing, would be deemed as inappropriate."
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Diala said she put on a 'proud face' in the meeting in which she was let go by the airline, adding: "For them to terminate me without giving me a chance, it was unfair."
In a statement after the incident, Alaska Airlines said: “While we don’t comment on personnel matters, we hold all flight attendants to high standards for conduct and guest care.
"All new flight attendants are subject to probationary periods, just like all Alaska Airlines employees.”
Diala has since set up a GoFundMe page for financial support, entitled 'support for a wrongfully fired flight attendant'.
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With more than $3,000 donated, it is no longer accepting donations.
"Losing my job was devastating. I’ve always been careful about what I share online, and I never thought this video, which didn’t even mention the airline by name, would cost me my career. Now, I am trying to figure out how to move forward," she wrote.
"I’ve started this GoFundMe to make ends meet due to this sudden loss of income and until I am able to find another flight attendant position elsewhere. I’ve learned from my mistakes and those don’t define me... we listen and we don’t judge."