Eric André describes an alleged altercation with security at Melbourne Airport in Australia.
The comedian said in an Instagram video on Sunday that he was “racially profiled” during a 25-hour trip that included stops in Los Angeles, Melbourne and Brisbane, Australia, for filming.
However, while in Melbourne, André told his followers that he had been “arrested” and “pulled out of a line and placed in a special row” to be “thoroughly sniffed by a dog”.
“These dogs are pretty ineffective,” the 41-year-old said. “This is one of the many times I have been racially discriminated against at the airport. So this is a message to all black, brown and aboriginal people travelling through Melbourne today, particularly if you are travelling via Qantas International at Terminal 2: please be careful.”
Throughout his video, André asked his followers for help in finding a lot of information.
First, he asked his followers for “information on an Australian discrimination lawyer. I’m all ears.”
André then asked for statistics on how many “people of color they put in that dog sniffer line compared to white passengers.”
“They’re looking for black, brown and indigenous people,” the actor continued. “Please let me know if anyone knows the names of these officers with the dogs or knows what this program is.”
André again asked for information about the program, which he described as a “senseless Giuliani-style stop-and-frisk program.”
He sharply criticized the program, calling it “not entirely safe” for black, brown and indigenous passengers and “unethical.”
“This has nothing to do with safety,” said André. “It has everything to do with racist harassment.”
“If anyone hires me for work in Australia in the future, whether for a production or a tour, please do not force me to go through Melbourne Airport alone,” André said later in his video message. “Please provide me with a police escort or some kind of security escort or let me fly directly to Brisbane or Sydney. I do not feel safe at Melbourne Airport. I do not want to be humiliated or racially discriminated against at these airports anymore.”
“I don’t want to cut my hair and wear a three-piece suit to be treated like a first-class citizen,” the author noted.
“I shouldn’t feel like I’m not accepted when I enter a country. Shame on the people at Melbourne Airport who have to go through this stupid process,” André said. “I doubt it makes the world a safer place for anyone in Melbourne or Australia.”
Taking to his Instagram account, Melbourne Airport’s official Instagram account responded with a message addressed to “Eric” saying that the airport “does not tolerate racism in any form”.
“We are pursuing your complaint with the Australian Border Force (ABF) and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), who are responsible for handling all international arrivals at Melbourne Airport and other Australian international gateways,” the comment said. “Melbourne Airport is proud to be the gateway to one of the world’s most multicultural cities. We welcome ALL passengers to Melbourne and expect everyone to be treated equally.”
André had previously claimed that he was the victim of racial discrimination at Atlanta’s Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport in 2021 before later taking legal action.
“I was just racially profiled by two plainclothes Atlanta PD officers in @Delta Terminal T3 at Atlanta Airport,” he said wrote on X back when he flagged down Atlanta police. “They stopped me for a ‘random’ search on the way across the bridge to the plane and asked if they could search me for drugs. I told them no. Be careful.”
