"I shouldn't be made to feel that I am unaccepted"— Eric Andre reveals being racially profiled at Melbourne Airport

The Man Seeking Woman star Eric Andre has recently opened up about his experience of reportedly being racially profiled at the Melbourne Airport. The actor posted a video through his socials, on August 18, 2024, which was recorded inside the airport, saying that he had been stopped at multiple locations for the last 25 hours.

Andre expressed his frustration in the clip for everything that happened to him by saying that he wanted to cut his hair and "wear a three-piece suit" so that he could be "treated like a first-class citizen." He added:

"I shouldn't be made to feel that I am unaccepted by entering the 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."

Notably, Eric Andre was waiting in line at the airport when he was called out and put in a different queue to get him checked by a dog. Andre was spotted frequently asking for help from his followers as he recorded the entire incident on camera.

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Eric Andre said that he previously had a similar experience at the airport

Eric Andre revealed in the video that he had to stop at places such as Los Angeles, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Australia. Andre said in the clip that he had been "racially profiled" in the past at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in 2021. 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."

Eric Andre requested people to disclose the names of the officers handling the dogs or anybody who knows about a "discrimination Australian lawyer." He told anyone with the same experience to open up about the same and Andre also stressed that he will not travel alone through the Melbourne Airport due to safety concerns. He addressed the same by saying:

"Please provide a police escort or some type of security escort for me, or have me fly into Brisbane or Sydney directly. 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 stated that the checking process which he had to undergo was unsafe for passengers. Melbourne Airport later responded to the incident in the comments section of the post, saying that they "expect everyone" to be treated without discrimination. They also wrote:

"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."

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Eric Andre sued the Clayton County Police after being checked at the airport in 2021

As mentioned, Andre had to undergo a checking process at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport around three years ago. A lawsuit was eventually filed by him and Clayton English against the Clayton County Police in 2022.

The duo claimed in the legal documents that they were stopped separately to check them for drugs despite that they were not carrying anything. Eric Andre recalled that people were staring at him and the lawsuit explained the process by saying that the officers take the boarding passes at the time of checking.

Talking about Clayton, he was traveling to Los Angeles from Atlanta in October 2020 when the checking happened. The duo said that they were questioned if they had drugs in their possession and Andre also revealed his travel plans to the investigators to avoid any kind of trouble.

The lawsuit alleged that the Clayton County Police violated the constitutional rights that offer protection against unreasonable searches, seizures, and racial discrimination. Eric Andre and Clayton English were seeking legal costs alongside compensatory and punitive damages.

The lawsuit also received support from popular faces such as Jamie Foxx and Taraji P. Henson and it reportedly stated that a majority of the people who were stopped at the airport were black. The court documents revealed that more than 400 passengers were stopped in the past to be checked by the authorities.