That TSA sad bear story? It was just a prank bro!
- 8 years ago
LOS ANGELES — The depressing image of a sad bear denied entry to a flight broke the internet’s heart last week, once again demonstrating just how mean-spirited the people in charge of security at our airports can be.
But all is not what it seems.
The photo was posted to Instagram by the TSA last week. The agency said the sad bear was abandoned by its owners at Los Angeles International Airport after it was ruled just too big to board a flight as a carry-on.
With few details to go on and the TSA’s lousy reputation preceding it, the internet could only assume that the agency had ruined Christmas for some poor little kid.
But then the truth came out. The TSA updated its Instagram post. And without naming names — Jake Paul — the agency said the bear did not belong to a heartbroken child, but was in fact the property of a fully-grown adult YouTuber, who tried to get the cuddly toy on a flight as a stunt.
The YouTuber in question had even bought a ticket for the bear but decided to leave the big guy behind, even though the airline offered to refund the ticket and he was given the option of checking the bear in as luggage.
In a blog post, the TSA explained this was a safety issue and people had tried to smuggle weapons inside stuffed animals in the past.
So we’re prepared to cut the TSA some slack on this one. After all, it was just a prank bro!
But all is not what it seems.
The photo was posted to Instagram by the TSA last week. The agency said the sad bear was abandoned by its owners at Los Angeles International Airport after it was ruled just too big to board a flight as a carry-on.
With few details to go on and the TSA’s lousy reputation preceding it, the internet could only assume that the agency had ruined Christmas for some poor little kid.
But then the truth came out. The TSA updated its Instagram post. And without naming names — Jake Paul — the agency said the bear did not belong to a heartbroken child, but was in fact the property of a fully-grown adult YouTuber, who tried to get the cuddly toy on a flight as a stunt.
The YouTuber in question had even bought a ticket for the bear but decided to leave the big guy behind, even though the airline offered to refund the ticket and he was given the option of checking the bear in as luggage.
In a blog post, the TSA explained this was a safety issue and people had tried to smuggle weapons inside stuffed animals in the past.
So we’re prepared to cut the TSA some slack on this one. After all, it was just a prank bro!