Oscars: Best Actor Nominee Allegedly Involved in Drunken Incident on Plane

Troy Kotsur, who earned an Oscar nomination for his supporting performance in CODA, was allegedly involved in a drunken airplane incident on a flight from London to Los Angeles last month. Kotsur’s representative said the incident was a “major misunderstanding” after the actor and his wife Deanne Bray missed a flight and had to fly without his sign-language interpreter. Kotsur has already won dozens of awards for CODA and is the first male deaf performer to be nominated for an Oscar.

Kotsur allegedly knocked a fork that struck a passenger while signing, reports The Sun. The cabin crew did not understand sign language, so they wrote him a note telling him police would escort him off the flight when they landed. A passenger claimed the incident happened after Kotsur “had sunk about ten small bottles of vodka and appeared to have an increasingly heated discussion in sign language with his wife.”

“Suddenly, it all kicked off, and he was gesticulating wildly as bits of food and cutlery were flying around,” the passenger continued. They claimed a woman was hit and began crying. The cabin crew then allegedly “refused to serve” Kotsur more alcohol and struggled to communicate with him before writing the note.

“Troy is a nervous flier anyway and was stressed because he didn’t have his translator with him,” one of Kotsur’s friends told The Sun. “He was signing expansively, which can be uncomfortable for hearing people. Obviously, it was a complete accident anyone got hit – his elbow knocked something off his tray.”

Kotsur’s representative told the Daily Mail that ASL shouldn’t be described as “gesticulation,” adding, “It is a completely visual language that is communicated through the expressive, physical movement of the hands, arms, and facial expressions.” The reps aid Kotsur and Bray missed a flight, which meant they could not fly with their interpreter. This “lead to a misunderstanding which was immediately cleared up when someone was contacted to interpret upon landing.”

The representative also disputed the claim that Kotsur was served ten bottles of vodka. “In 2022, no airline attendant will serve a passenger ten vodkas, nor any number of drinks even close to that amount,” the rep told the Daily Mail. “Other than Troy and his wife, there was no other person on that plane that spoke ASL. It is not uncommon when speaking in ASL during meals in small quarters, for cups, food, or silverware to be accidentally hit or knocked over.”

The incident ended when Kotsur got someone who could interpret over FaceTime. After that, “everyone shook hands and walked away,” the rep said.

CODA stars Emilia Jones as Ruby Rossi, the hearing daughter of deaf parents, played by Kotur and Marlee Matlin. It was written and directed by Sian Heder and based on a French film. The movie earned Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor for Kotsur. Kotsur has already won several awards for the film, including a BAFTA Film Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. CODA is available to stream on Apple TV+.