Tuberville posts that there is an "ALARMING number" of "DERANGED" furries working in the airline industry
U.S. senator and Republican nominee for Alabama governor, posting on his official X account
“I know the deranged Democrats don’t like the fact that I called out the insane FURRY CULTURE this week. But the truth is, there is an ALARMING number of these DERANGED people working in our airline industry. Don’t believe me? Just a few months ago, PILOTS were MEOWING and BARKING at each other over the radio at DCA.”
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Senator Tuberville's post on his official account two days after his floor speech. It attaches a short video of an NBC News report on radio audio from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in which two pilots are heard meowing and barking. The post names no source for the "alarming number" it describes.
Reporting
About this source
NBC News video report on the April 2026 radio audio from Reagan National Airport, which includes an FAA statement. Senator Tuberville's September 24 X post attaches a short version of this report.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Two days earlier, on September 22, Tuberville said in a Senate floor speech that many airline pilots, flight attendants and air traffic controllers are part of the furry community. The post opens by referring to Democrats who dislike that he "called out the insane FURRY CULTURE this week."
After the quotation
The post attaches a short NBC News video of radio audio from Reagan National Airport, recorded in April, in which two pilots meow and bark. About an hour later Tuberville posted a second message about a furry convention, and later that day he answered TMZ DC's questions at the Capitol.
How this statement is classified
Responding to: Many airline pilots, flight attendants and air traffic controllers are part of the furry community.
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is Tuberville's claim that many airline pilots, flight attendants and air traffic controllers are furries and a flight-safety risk. In his own post he asserts an "ALARMING number" of "DERANGED" furry airline workers and cites the radio clip as support, which endorses the claim; no competing label fits because he neither qualifies nor retreats from it.
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Is there evidence for Tommy Tuberville's claim that furries working in the airline industry are a flight-safety risk?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
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Read the full case“Tuberville wants to focus on anything except the real problems facing the American public, starting with the skyrocketing cost of fuel. He could end the Iran War and protect the public from predatory AI, but instead he’s calling Care Bear “violent” to try to distract people from the real problems he helped create.”Read statement
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
“Thanks for the shoutout, Senator Tuberville. We’re proud to be part of the furry community … OUR FURRY FLIGHT ATTENDANTS HELP KEEP OUR SKIES SAFE TOO.”Read statement
“Some, not all. … They have a club. They have an organization. … they had a section of airline pilots … Well, I don't want somebody flying me that's behind the scenes that they think they're an animal. … It's some part of mental illness that could be a catastrophe.”Read statement