After a recent experience down under, comedian Eric André has taken issue with the Melbourne Airport in Australia. On Sunday, he posted an Instagram video describing an incident where he felt that he was racially profiled by airport security.
“I got detained,” he said. “I got pulled out of a lineup and put in a special line in Melbourne where I was sniffed thoroughly by a dog.”
He went on to call out the airport, warning “Black, brown and Indigenous people” traveling through Melbourne to “be careful.” André — who’s had previous issues while traveling — also made it clear that he has no plans to change his appearance for the purpose of being considered more acceptable.
“I do not feel safe in the Melbourne Airport. I do not want to be humiliated or racially discriminated against anymore at these airports,” he said. “I don’t want to cut my hair and wear a three-piece suit so that I’m treated like a first-class citizen.”
The “Trolls Band Together” actor and comedian didn’t mince words, declaring the process a “Giuliani stop and frisk-esque” incident.
“I shouldn’t be made to feel that I am unaccepted by entering a country. Shame on the people at the Melbourne Airport that have this cockamamie procedure,” he said. “I doubt it yields any safer world for anybody in Melbourne or Australia. I’d love to dig up the statistics on what is coming out of that program.”
Throughout the video he asks his followers for information about the officers working that area of the airport, possible legal representation in Melbourne, and whether anyone had statistics on the security procedures.
In the comments, many users seemed to think he was blowing things out of proportion. “Australia has the strictest and most policed border entry of any country I’ve been through,” one user wrote. “...Coming home terrifies me every time and I’m as white as a lily. You weren’t profiled, you’re just a person.” Still, André is adamant about his experience. For its part, the airport replied to the post with a statement on the situation.
“Melbourne Airport does not tolerate racism in any form. We are following up your complaint with the Australian Border Force (ABF) and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) who are in charge of processing all international arrivals at Melbourne Airport and other Australian international gateways,” the comment read. “Melbourne Airport is proudly the gateway to one of the most multicultural cities in the world. We welcome ALL passengers to Melbourne, and we expect everyone to be treated equally.”
As previously reported by The Root, back in 2022, André and fellow comic Clayton English sued Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport alleging that “their constitutional rights as airline passengers were violated through intimidating searches right before they were going to board their flights.” The case was dismissed, but the two entertainers appealed the dismissal.