Genius... or jackass? Meet aspiring musician James Potok, a.k.a., Potok Philippe, of Thornhill, Ontario.

On Monday, Mr. Potok was on a WestJet flight from Toronto to Montego Bay, Jamaica, along with 243 other passengers. Two hours into the flight, Potok got out of his seat and filmed himself on his cellphone camera, implying to his fellow passengers and crew that he might have the coronavirus.

The plane then made a U-turn back to Toronto, much to the chagrin of those looking forward to enjoying a Jamaican holiday. Evidently, Potok wanted to create a “viral video” in order to further his musical career.

He now faces two criminal charges (mischief and breach of recognizance) and perhaps there is additional civil suits to come. Hey, they say there’s no such thing as bad publicity... but is that really true given the fiasco that occurred on Flight 2702?

P.S. Please note, it has been reported that James Potok is now charging $400 per interview in order to monetize his stunt. He also claims that the Washington Post has agreed to pay him a non-disclosed sum for an interview. Rebel News did not pay anything to Mr. Potok for our interview with him.