Sunwing Party Plane Influencer Says They 'Didn't Commit Any Crimes' & 'Didn't Kill Anyone'

One of the influencers who was on board the Sunwing party plane has spoken out against criticisms of the group, saying that they "didn't commit any crimes" and "didn't kill anyone."

In an Instagram live video on January 9, Quebec-based influencer Tony Lee joked with 111 Private Club Owner James William Awad about being stranded in Mexico after multiple airlines refused to fly them back to Canada.

The duo talked about the backlash over the privately chartered Sunwing flight, with Lee admitting in French that "there are things we could have done differently."

He continued, "But we didn’t commit any crimes. We didn’t kill anyone.”

Both Awad and Lee were on board the December 30 flight from Montreal to Cancun, which was scheduled to return on January 5, 2022. However, multiple airlines later declined to fly the passengers home after viral videos showed them drinking, vaping and partying on board and flouting public health measures.

In the same 45-minute Instagram Live, Awad said in French that Canadians should not "put everyone in the same boat," as many of the people on board were not involved in the questionable behaviour.

Awad — who owns the company that organized the private trip — went on to say that 189 people are paying the price for the actions of 10 or 20 passengers, many of whom are influencers and reality TV stars.

He added that he "supports" those who partied on the plane and said he'll "never apologize for them."

According to the company owner, he takes COVID "seriously" and offered free testing for all of the passengers before they left for Cancun. He revealed that one person who attended the event had tested positive for COVID-19, but said they were "banned from 111 Private Club for being dishonest."

The video was posted shortly after Awad took to Twitter to slam his critics, describing them as "sheeps" and urging people to "wake up."

In his original statement on January 6, he appeared to be more sympathetic, writing, "I understand why many fellow citizens are upset about the current situation."

However, he has since backtracked by tweeting messages like "The 111 Private Club is A1" and sharing a video of Jimmy Kimmel calling the influencers onboard "knuckleheads."

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.