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A video of a man singing a worship song mid-flight on a plane has exploded on social media, and the man has since been identified as a Singaporean.

Originally posted to TikTok and Instagram by one Jack Jensz Jr., the video was reposted to Twitter on Apr. 16, where it has garnered over 5.6 million views.

In the video, a young man can be seen strumming a guitar and singing a Christian worship song.

A group of other passengers in the background are standing up, clapping and singing along, with a number filming the scene with their phones.

A bald man in the foreground, however, looks distinctly unamused.

The video was originally posted with the caption, "Worshipping Jesus 30,000 Feet In The Air". It has since been deleted from Jensz's account.

Nope. I’d be pulling the exit door open. pic.twitter.com/CEOQSX4Y3g

— Ryan James Dee  (@RyanJamesDee) April 15, 2022

Negative reactions

On Twitter, reactions to the video have been largely negative.

Many users criticised this form of evangelism.

Several users also said it was inconsiderate, disruptive, and made passengers feel uncomfortable, while one TikTok user pointed out that such an act could pose a safety hazard as so many people are not seated.

The issue also sparked questions of privilege, and whether the reception would be similar if other passengers tried the same.

I think my family and I should have a prayer session next time I am on a plane. How do you think it will end? pic.twitter.com/5696Erwsl5

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 17, 2022

Singaporean identified

In the resulting online furore over the video, the singing man was identified as Singaporean Jonathan Neo.

He had posted the same video to his Instagram account, stating that he and his group had sung in six languages.

Neo was previously featured in an Apr. 11 Thir.st article.

He had made his way to Ukraine, where he worked at a refugee centre for displaced families.

Neo has since set his Instagram account to private.

Apparently asked cabin crew for permission to sing a song

In response to the backlash, Jensz, the original poster of the video, posted another TikTok video on Apr. 17 to give his account of what happened during the flight.

Jensz is the founder of the Christian organisation Kingdom Realm Ministries.

He shared that his team, which presumably includes Neo, was in Ukraine "since the second day of the war".

They were helping to distribute food, water and other supplies, as well as praying with refugees.

Jensz claimed that they had asked the cabin crew of EasyJet, a British budget airline, if they could sing a song.

The crew then asked the pilot, who apparently gave the go-ahead, and informed plane passengers over the intercom that they would like to sing a song.

"Everyone clapped, as we got to our feet, and sang the beautiful song 'How great is our God'. As we were singing, people were smiling, people had their phones out recording, people were touched, and there was even some people that were crying, that were getting touched by what people were singing. After that, everyone clapped, and it was a great joyful moment."

Similarly, reactions to Jensz's update were not pleasant despite his attempt at clarification.

Jensz has since set his account to private.

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Top photo from jackjenszjr / TikTok