Jason Derulo’s airport ‘ruckus’

Most of us find airports a struggle sometimes. No different for Jason Derulo, who had a recent altercation with Southwest Airlines staff in Nevada — although he found a way to solve the problem that’s beyond most people’s budgets.

The R ‘n’ B singer and his entourage were set to travel to last Saturday’s Teen Choice awards in LA from Reno-Tahoe International airport. In what may have been the only display of rational and relatable behaviour from Derulo and his posse, they elected to use the TSA pre-check system. It’s essentially a pre-registered fast-track queue that lets US travellers skip the modern hell of departure security once they’ve been deemed low-risk travellers by the US government.

Unfortunately for Derulo et al, the pre-check machines were down. The singer was allegedly told that he would have to stand in line like everyone else. “We were literally just trying to not cause a ruckus,” Derulo later said. “My security was just trying to tell the agent, ‘Can we go to this section so we don’t cause a ruckus?’”

Er, no. Derulo cited “a lot of picture-taking and that stuff” as further proof that going through security like a normal person would be extra hassle for him. In fairness, he is a well-known pop star in the US. But unfortunately, no number of top 40 hits gives someone the power to trump the TSA’s rules.

He was barred from boarding the plane after arguing loudly with employees from Southwest airlines, but proceeded to get on anyway, causing him to be removed by airport security.

He ended up taking a private jet to LA, as per an Instagram video he later uploaded, and there should be no further issues: He later told gossip site TMZ he was buying his own plane next month.