Comedian and actor Eric Andre warned people of color (POC) to stay vigilant while traveling internationally after allegedly being harassed and discriminated against at the Melbourne Airport in Australia.
“It’s like one of the many times I’ve been racially profiled at the airport,” Andre said on an Instagram post, adding:
“So this is a message for all Black, brown, and Indigenous people traveling through Melbourne today ... please be careful.”
Andre is a Black, biracial comedian known for being the creator, host, and co-writer of the Adult Swim surreal comedy series
The Eric Andre Show and for playing Luci on the Netflix series Disenchantment.
His mother is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent and his father was an Afro-Haitian immigrant. Andre identifies as both Black and Jewish.
The 41-year-old Boca Raton, Florida, native said he had been on several flights for 25 hours traveling from New York City with stops in LA and Melbourne to shoot for an undisclosed TV/film project.
Here is the Instagram clip.
"I got detained. I got pulled out of a lineup and put in a special line in Melbourne where I was sniffed thoroughly by a dog," said Andre.
Based on his assumption the animals were drug-detection dogs, Andre mentioned learning about their specific screening process at airports statistically being "80 to 90% ineffective."
Andre warned fellow non-White travelers through Melbourne to be aware of racial profiling scenarios, especially at Melbourne Airport Terminal 2 which services Qantas Airlines.
"Please be careful," he stressed. “They are searching Black, brown, and Indigenous people."
@ericf**kingandre/Instagram
@ericf**kingandre/Instagram
Andre also asked social media users to provide him with information if they knew the names of the agents involved in the detection dogs department at the location, as well as any Australian attorneys specializing in racial discrimination cases he could reach out to.
He also requested statistics relating to the percentages of POC passengers being selected for the high alert security line and White passengers going through the Melbourne airport.
In addition, Andre suggested that a future gig requiring him to travel Down Under would only be ideal under certain safety conditions.
"Anybody hiring me to work in Australia going forward, whether it’s a production or a tour, please don’t make me go through the Melbourne Airport alone,” he said.
@ericf**kingandre/Instagram
@ericf**kingandre/Instagram
@ericf**kingandre/Instagram
He continued:
“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.”
@ericf**kingandre/Instagram
@ericf**kingandre/Instagram
@ericf**kingandre/Instagram
In response to the incident, a spokesperson for the Australian airport said that the airport “does not tolerate racism in any form.”
The statement added:
"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.”
The spokesperson noted that the airport asked other Australian government agencies “in charge of processing all international arrivals into Australia” to investigate the situation and that “those agencies have now provided a response" to the actor.
@ericf**kingandre/Instagram
Andre continued in the video:
“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. They have this cockamamie procedure. I doubt it yields any safer world for anybody in Melbourne, Australia."
He requested, again, for information if anyone had a lead shedding light on the dog sniffing procedure he called a “Giuliani stop-and-frisk-esque nonsense program."
@ericf**kingandre/Instagram
@ericf**kingandre/Instagram
Andre was vocal about another racial profiling incident in 2021 at the Atlanta airport.
He and fellow comedian Clayton English, who is Black, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Atlanta alleging they were individually racially profiled and illegally searched on separate occasions six months apart by Clayton County police at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Andre said at the time:
“I have the resources to bring national attention and international attention to this incident. It’s not an isolated incident."
"If Black people don’t speak up for each other, who will?”
According to reports, he and English filed an appeal in January after the lawsuit was dismissed.
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