Original Coverage & Source Attribution: www.yahoo.com
Daniel Kaluuya and Tyriq Withers turned a travel delay into an unexpected comedy moment on local television. The actors were stranded at Eugene Airport in Oregon on Friday, November 13, when Withers borrowed a familiar internet joke to describe their predicament.
They had already boarded their Los Angeles-bound flight before being told to deplane, according to The Register-Guard. A nationwide FAA ground stop had halted departures while officials investigated problems affecting air traffic control communications and radar.
KVAL News reporter Gold Meadows approached the pair while interviewing stranded travelers. Withers, 28, and Kaluuya, 37, took turns answering her questions, mixing appreciation for the safety precautions with a reference to the viral “Bella Noche” interview.
The exchange spread beyond the local broadcast, with PEOPLE covering it on November 14. Why the actors were visiting Eugene together remained unclear, but Withers had previously spoken publicly about wanting to work with Kaluuya.
Withers Reworks the “Bella Noche” Meme as Kaluuya Laughs
Withers began by thanking God and the FAA for protecting passengers, adding a brief reference to the recent midterm elections. Then he said the situation was upsetting him and his “homegirl” and asked where people were supposed to go if they couldn’t even go to the airport.
The joke adapted Hazel London’s viral 2015 interview with Baton Rouge television station WBRZ. London had expressed her frustration after an incident at the Bella Noche nightclub, questioning where she and her friends could go instead. Withers substituted their disrupted travel plans for the original complaint.
Kaluuya stepped out of frame laughing before explaining that he appreciated the decision to pause flights. He acknowledged the inconvenience but focused on how differently the situation might have unfolded if departures had continued, suggesting the precaution could have protected lives.
The interview ended with another playful moment. Withers suggested making an “O” with their hands, and both actors obliged. Kaluuya called out, “O-way or no way!” Withers repeated the chant as Meadows laughed along with them.
Both Actors Have Connections to Jordan Peele’s Films
In a September 2025 conversation with Boardroom, Withers named Jennifer Lawrence and Kaluuya when asked which actors he hoped to collaborate with. He also praised filmmakers willing to take chances on performers, citing Peele’s discovery of Kaluuya through his work on Black Mirror.
Kaluuya went on to earn a Best Actor Oscar nomination for Peele’s Get Out. His portrayal of Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah later won him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2021. Withers’ connection to Peele came through the 2025 psychological horror film Him, which Peele produced and Justin Tipping directed.
In Him, Withers played aspiring football star Cameron Cade opposite Marlon Wayans. The role drew on a sport he knew firsthand: he had been a football walk-on at Florida State before pursuing acting. He described leaving the team as a difficult decision and later moved to Atlanta, where he began auditioning and landed a role on Donald Glover’s series Atlanta.
FAA Lifted the Ground Stop After More Than Four Hours
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the technical trouble began at 3:36 p.m. Eastern Time. According to the Department of Transportation, intermittent telecommunications outages destabilized systems at air traffic control facilities. Duffy attributed the problems to older switches and routers becoming overloaded with data.
While departures were paused, controllers continued bringing aircraft already in the air in for safe landings. The nationwide ground stop was lifted at 8:15 p.m. Eastern, or 5:15 p.m. in Eugene, after more than four hours. Duffy stressed that the disruption had affected older equipment, while newly installed switches had remained operational.
Reopening departures did not mean every delayed flight could leave immediately. Duffy said airlines still needed available pilots and cabin crews, and some flights would have to wait until Saturday. Restoring schedules would take time as airlines worked through the afternoon’s disruption.
