The original footage is here starting around 18 minutes in:
It doesn't look like he is holding anything, nor does it look like he is actually putting anything on the shelf.
When his right hand goes to the handle he just grabs it.
I would say it is more just not knowing what to do with his hands.
But it definitely doesn't look like he is going to grab the hat, and he can see the person beside him and thus it makes no sense for him to go and grab the hat before it was passed.
So it makes no sense as being fake.
Thanks for posting Jack, watching the unedited video is very interesting.
I agree, nothing in his hand at all.
The astronaut on the right is clearly using a foot/hand hold, to keep himself steady, you see him detaching, and attaching a couple of times. These foot/hand holds are dotted around the station.
The chap on the left does not have a foot/hand hold below his feet. He is either fidgeting or constantly correcting his position with his feet. Periodically he reaches out to either a foot/hand hold or perhaps even a shelf to stabilise himself.
In the unedited video at 18:19 he makes the movement pointed out in Plat's video.
However, he also makes very similar movements at:
0.16
1.04
3.06
3.28
6.11
7.24
7.42
7.47
9.51
10.07
13.03
14.21
15.59
16.39
16.52
18.00
18.19 (the hat incident)
20.30
21.15
22.10
22.18
He could have done it when the camera cut to the students as well.
When the whole video is watched the astronaut, reaching out to the right to steady himself is a natural looking movement and mannerism.
Plat's video cherry picks one such movement, takes it out of context and imposes its own interpretation of that movement.
This is evidence of fakery???
The video even suggests that 'some people' believe they are reacting to VR and its a glitch. TBH the video maker missed a trick, at 19.13 the very same astronaut ruffles the hair of a small boy in front of him
Small invisible boys running around the ISS THE EARTH MUST BE FLAT