Delta Airlines has reportedly launched an internal investigation after a TikTok video went viral showing trans-identified male actor Tommy Dorfman accusing an airline employee of intentionally misgendering him.
In the video, initially shared on his TikTok but since deleted, Dorfman confronts an employee at LaGuardia Airport in New York City for referring to him with male pronouns. While the recording appears to have started after the interaction had already begun, Dorfman can be seen at a gate waiting for a flight to Atlanta. Behind the desk, two Delta employees seem exacerbated while interacting with him.
“And what about when a Delta employee misgenders you intentionally?” asked the 13 Reasons Why actor.
“It wasn’t intentional,” the gate agent calmly replies.
In response, Dorfman accuses a female employee not shown in the video of intentionally referring to him with male pronouns and goes on a brief rant recounting all of the alleged misgendering.
“You said ‘he’ and then you said ‘she,'” responded Dorfman.
While it is unknown how long Dorfman had been confronting the ticket agent prior to recording the interaction, the man appeared fed-up with Dorfman’s tone.
“You’re being condescending,” he states, “and if you want to continue, I’ll have Port Authority escort you out the building right this moment if you want to play that game with me. Which, if you’d like to continue three days before Christmas, I really don’t mind.”
Dorfman concedes, suggesting instead that he will be uploading the video to his social media before the footage cuts out.
While the Delta employees received a groundswell of support on social media, with many praising the calm and firm way in which the main agent stood up for his fellow members of staff, the attention has reportedly prompted the airline to look into the incident.
Speaking with Newsweek, a spokesperson for Delta explained that they were “aware of the video and looking into the matter, including reaching out to our customer to understand more about what occurred.”
Many are now expressing concerns about the employees in the situation, worried they may be penalized to satisfy the trans activists threatening to boycott the company over the incident.
Dorfman deleted the TikTok after criticism of his behavior began to roll in, many on social media began to dredge up some of his past controversies. In particular, one video of Dorfman showing his young audience how to inject estrogen racked up millions of views after it was shared by political commentator Libs of TikTok.
“Tommy Dorfman is a man. A man who injects estrogen into his legs weekly and even has a tutorial for children on his Tiktok,” wrote Jeremy Hambly, co-founder of The Publica, on X (formerly Twitter). “He is a man.”
Shortly after the Delta incident went viral, Dorfman, who came out as transgender in 2021, addressed the incident on Instagram, calling for people to be respectful to others and educate themselves about using the correct pronouns.
“Everyone deserves to be treated with respect, including transgender people,” wrote the 31-year-old actor. “When we are mistreated, i.e. being misgendered repeatedly, trans people should be able to defend ourselves and advocate for our innate human dignity.”
