Comedian Eric André Says He Was Racially Profiled in Australia: ‘I Do Not Want to Be Humiliated Anymore’

Comedian Eric André said he was racially profiled while traveling through Australia’s Melbourne Airport on Sunday, claiming workers at the airport were unethically targeting “Black, brown and Indigenous people.” 

The 41-year-old said he had just been through a brutal 25-hour travel day, flying from New York to his final destination in Brisbane, when he “got pulled out of a lineup” while going through security in Melbourne. André said he was instead “put in a special line” where he was “sniffed thoroughly by a dog.”

“It’s one of the many times I’ve been racially profiled at the airport,” he added. “So, this is a message for all Black, brown, and Indigenous people traveling through Melbourne today, especially if you’re traveling through Qantas International by Terminal 2: Please be careful.”

André questioned the success rate of such screening programs, saying the measures have “nothing to do with safety” but “everything to do with racial harassment.” He likened the practice to former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani’s controversial “stop-and-frisk-esque nonsense program.” 

Going forward, André said he will expect for any future clients to route his travel through alternative airports and would like some type of security escort to ensure his safety. “I do not want to be humiliated or racially discriminated against anymore at these airports,” André 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. 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. I doubt it yields any safer world for anybody in Melbourne or Australia.”

Rolling Stone has reached out to André for additional comment. Melbourne Airport did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment, but the airport commented on André’s Instagram post, saying they were following up on his complaint with the country’s appropriate travel and immigration departments. “We welcome ALL passengers to Melbourne, and we expect everyone to be treated equally,” the airport said.

This is not the first time André said he’s experienced being unfairly profiled while traveling. In 2021, André said he was stopped at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and questioned if he was carrying drugs, going on to sue Atlanta’s Clayton County Police Department for racial discrimination. The case is currently being appealed in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. 

From Rolling Stone US.