Tyriq Withers Quotes Famous Meme During Chaotic Live Interview After Getting Stranded at Airport amid Nationwide Ground Stop
Tyriq Withers Quotes Famous Meme During Chaotic Live Interview After Getting Stranded at Airport amid Nationwide Ground Stop
Angel SaundersSat, November 14, 2026 at 2:23 PM UTC
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Tyriq Withers and Daniel Kaluuya speak to KVAL News amid FAA ground stopsCredit: KVAL News/YouTube -
Tyriq Withers and Daniel Kaluuya were among an estimated 1.5 million travelers affected by the FAA ground stop on Friday, Nov. 13
Withers referenced a viral 2015 news interview while they spoke live with Oregon’s KVAL News
The FAA reopened airspace Friday evening after halting departures nationwide for safety reasons
Tyriq Withers and Daniel Kaluuya are going viral after an unexpected interview with an Oregon news station amid the recent FAA ground stops.
The Reminders of Him actor, 28, and the Get Out star, 37, were among the estimated 1.5 million passengers affected by the nationwide FAA ground stop on Friday, Nov. 13.
KVAL News reporter Gold Meadows was speaking with stranded travelers at Eugene Airport when she came across the actors and asked them about their experience so far.
“So today we were headed back to Los Angeles and we got on the plane and we had to deboard, unfortunately. I just want to thank God, [and the] FAA, [for] really protecting us, you know, post blue wave as well,” Withers said, referring to the historic mid-term election results earlier this month.
The I Know What You Did Last Summer actor, who was featured in PEOPLE’s 2026 Sexiest Man Alive issue last month, then hilariously referred to an old viral news clip.
“But I really feel like, it’s really upsetting me and my home girl because if you can’t go to the airport, what the hell can you go?,” Withers said live on television.
The quote was his own spin on a WBRZ interview that originally aired in July 2015 following a shooting in a Louisiana nightclub called Bella Noche’.
Kaluuya stepped out of the frame as he began to laugh at Withers before then sharing his experience regarding the ground stop.
“I feel grateful,” the Black Panther star said.
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“Obviously, it’s an inconvenience, but I feel grateful. I feel grateful because it could have happened any other way. Think about how many lives [were] probably saved because of that decision,” Kaluuya continued.
He added, “I feel good, man. I’m like, we’re out here. I’m in Eugene, Oregon.”
Withers stepped back into the frame, suggesting that they “throw up the ‘O.’ ” He and Kaluuya then put their hands together to form the letter, prompting Meadows to laugh at them both.
Daniel Kaluuya; Tyriq Withers — October 2026Credit: Laura Rose/Dave Benett/WireImage; Frazer Harrison/WireImage
“O-way or no way!” Kaluuya said while holding his hands up as the trio laughed together and Withers repeated the impromptu chant.
The nationwide ground stop was issued by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration shortly before 4 p.m. ET on Friday for all departing aircraft “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.”
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later announced that the airspace was reopened at 8:15 ET that same evening.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the Trump Administration has “seen zero evidence that this was a cyber attack.”
The nationwide ground stop of all departure flights was the second since Sept. 11, 2001.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
