Did Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville say "many airline pilots, flight attendants and air traffic controllers are part of the furry community"? Yes, that's true: The Alabama senator made the remarks about pilots, flight attendants and air traffic controllers being part of the 'furry community' during a speech on the U.S. Senate floor on Sept. 22, 2026. Video on the C-SPAN2 website matches the video posted on social media showing Tuberville making the remarks.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) by @allenanalysis on X on Sept. 23, 2026. It read:
TOMMY TUBERVILLE WARNS THAT "MANY" PILOTS, FLIGHT ATTENDANTS AND AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ARE FURRIES: "Lord help us. It's terrifying when you think about this." Tuberville claimed on the Senate floor that airline workers being part of the furry community poses a danger to passengers, saying a pilot "could have a deranged fetish of dressing up like an animal."
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @allenanalysis on X.)
This is what the video looked like on X at the time of writing:
TOMMY TUBERVILLE WARNS THAT "MANY" PILOTS, FLIGHT ATTENDANTS AND AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ARE FURRIES: "Lord help us. It's terrifying when you think about this."
-- Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) September 23, 2026
Tuberville claimed on the Senate floor that airline workers being part of the furry community poses a danger to... pic.twitter.com/Fz1dPnGbEN
Sen. Tuberville did talk about airline pilots, flight attendants and air traffic controllers being a part of the "furry community" during his remarks on the Senate floor on Sept. 22, 2026. The video clip used on X matches video on the C-SPAN2 website (archived here). Beginning at 1:58:00 in the C-SPAN2 video, Tuberville says:
And there is significantly [sic] overlap between people who are gender confused and furry and the furry community. Research shows that 25% of the furries are gender confused and it's more evidence of our society going to heck in a handbasket when we have stuff like this going on. What's more concerning is that this is mentally and unwell [sic] in a furry community that touts the fact that many, listen to this, that many airline pilots, flight attendants, and air traffic controllers are part of the furry community.
He continues:
Lord, help us. It's terrifying when you think about this. When you walk onto a commercial flight, it's possible that the pilot flying your plane could have a deranged fetish of dressing up like an animal. You can't make this up.
