Kate Cassidy Breaks Down in Tears After Claiming TSA Agent Denied Her Passport Because Photo Didn't Match Her Appearance

Tabitha ParentMon, May 18, 2026 at 6:10 PM UTC

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Kate Cassidy shows her passport picture in a May 15 TikTok, after she encountered difficulties entering the Fort Lauderdale airport.
Credit: Kateecass/TikTok -

Kate Cassidy is sharing some of the difficulties she encountered while attempting to travel through the Fort Lauderdale airport

In a May 15 TikTok video, the influencer broke down in tears as she claimed she had been "ridiculed" by security agents at the airport because her passport photo did not match her current appearance

"There are other ways to speak to people. This was so embarrassing," Cassidy added in her caption

Kate Cassidy is sharing the moment she claims she was "ridiculed" by security agents at the Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport because her passport photo did not match her current appearance.

In a May 15 TikTok post, the influencer, 27, began to tear up, saying she had just been "genuinely ridiculed at the Fort Lauderdale airport," before launching into a breakdown of the alleged event."So I'm at the security line, and I gave the guy my passport. And they obviously do a photo of you, and if it matches your passport, you get the green light, and if it doesn't match your passport, you get the red light. And I got the red light because my photo, I guess, didn't match my appearance," Cassidy explained, before holding up her passport picture. In the photo, Cassidy, who now has brown hair, was blonde.

Kate Cassidy.
Credit: Kate Cassidy/Instagram

Cassidy continued, explaining that the security agent called another woman over to look at her passport, who she said was "literally doing a double take, like, up and down, up and down." Cassidy claims that the woman told her that the photo in her passport wasn't her and that she was trying to give her someone else's passport."She goes, 'New nose, new lips, something to your eyes, new hair,'" Cassidy recounts of the incident. Cassidy then attempted to show her ID photo."She looks at my ID, she looks at my passport, she looks at me. She goes, 'One, two, three. Those are three different people,'" she recounted."I'm literally so f---ing embarrassed," the content creator added, her voice breaking. The agent then called over a few other employees to look at her ID, and one asked if she had a work ID that she could show. "I was like, 'I can pull up my Instagram. I don't know what to do,'" she said.

"I understand they're doing their job. At the same time. I think there's way better ways to handle things and word things," Cassidy concluded, adding in her caption that she was just trying to fly home to see her sister graduate from college.Cassidy ultimately made it home for the graduation, posting a follow-up video from the ceremony a day later.

PEOPLE has reached out to the Transportation Security Administration for comment.Cassidy is known for her lifestyle content on social media, which she pushes out to her 1.8 million TikTok followers and 917,000 Instagram followers. Cassidy is also known for having dated late One Direction singer Liam Payne, up until his death at age 31 in October 2024.

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Payne was first seen with Cassidy in October 2022. Despite breakup rumors in May 2023, Payne and the influencer were still dating and posting about their relationship at the time of his death. They were spotted at Paris Fashion Week in March 2024.

On Friday, April 24, the content creator posted a video on her TikTok and Instagram platforms to share that she feels "ready to start dating again." Her announcement came about a year and a half after Payne died at age 31 due to a fatal fall from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Speaking to viewers in her recent post, Cassidy admitted that she's not sure what to expect, but she is looking ahead toward her future.

"I think that love after loss is a big chapter within your grief journey and I don't know how that's gonna feel," she said. "But what I do know is that I loved being in love. I want to have kids one day. I want to have a family, and I know Liam would want that for me, and if the roles were reversed I would want him to be happy and fall in love again."

She maintained that she will "always love" the late singer. "That will never change, no matter who I meet and who comes into my life," said Cassidy, who became choked up during her video. "I am probably going to — not even probably, I'm going to think about Liam on my wedding day. I'm going to think about him every day for the rest of my life, and that goes without saying."

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”