'Yellowstone' actor claims he was kicked off plane after refusing to sit next to masked passenger

A "Yellowstone" star is speaking out after an alleged airplane standoff.

Forrie J. Smith, who plays Lloyd Pierce on the Paramount Network western, took to Instagram on Saturday to claim he was removed from a flight after refusing to sit next to a passenger wearing a mask.

In a video, which Smith appeared to be filming from an airport, the actor told fans that he "just got kicked off a plane" because he "told them that I didn't feel comfortable sitting next to somebody with a mask on." He also said he had been sitting in the Houston airport for "three hours."

Smith did not mention which airline he was flying. USA TODAY has reached out to a representative for the actor for comment.

In his video, Smith acknowledged that he had "been drinking" but denied being "drunk," suggesting this is the reason he was given for why he was allegedly removed from the flight.

"They threw me off the plane because I'm drunk, because you people won't stand up and tell everybody what (expletive) this is," he said. "I just told them I didn't feel comfortable about sitting next to somebody that had to wear a mask, and I'm off the plane."

Smith has also appeared on "Better Call Saul," and has worked on the crew of films like "2 Guns" and "Hell or High Water," according to his IMDB page.

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In 2022, the actor declined to attend the Screen Actors Guild Awards, where the cast of "Yellowstone" was nominated, due to the ceremony's COVID-19 vaccine requirement.

"I will not get vaccinated," he said in a video at the time. "I haven't been vaccinated since I was a little kid. I don't vaccinate my dogs. I don't vaccinate my horses. I've never had a flu shot. I never will."

Wearing masks on domestic flights has not been federally mandated since 2022, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that wearing a mask during travel can "help protect others who cannot avoid being in crowded places when they are traveling" and who might be more vulnerable.

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Smith received some pushback in the comments of his Instagram video, with one follower asking how he knows that the person wearing a mask "doesn't have cancer and just is going through chemotherapy treatments or something else that warrants them wearing one?"

Another follower commented, "I wore a mask all the time when my mom was on hospice care and traveling back and forth to see her. This post makes me sad as a fan."

Contributing: Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY