Eric Andre details racial profiling incident at Melbourne Airport

In a video, the comedian said he was “pulled out of a lineup and put in a special line” to be “sniffed thoroughly by a dog."

By Emma Keates  |  August 19, 2024 | 3:02pm
Photo: Leon Bennett/Getty Images
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Eric Andre details racial profiling incident at Melbourne Airport

In an uncharacteristically serious video, comedian Eric Andre is sharing his experience of being racially profiled while flying through Australia’s Melbourne Airport this weekend. “The only thing more racist than American customs is Australian and New Zealand customs,” he said in a video posted on social media, before explaining, “I got detained. I got pulled out of a lineup and put in a special line… where I was sniffed thoroughly by a dog.” “Those dogs are pretty much ineffective… at sniffing out whatever they’re trying to sniff out,” Andre also added.

“This is one of the many times I’ve been racially profiled at the airport,” he continued. In 2022, Andre and fellow comedian Clayton English took legal action after a similar alleged incident occurred at Georgia’s Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Now, he’s sending a “message for all Black, brown, and Indigenous people traveling through Melbourne today,” especially if they’re planning to fly internationally on Qantas. (The airline did not immediately respond to The A.V. Club’s request for comment on this story.)

“Please be careful,” he said. “They are searching Black, brown, and Indigenous people.” Andre also asked his followers to provide him with any information they might have on the names of the officers with the dogs, what this “program” is, and/or info for an Australian discrimination lawyer. He also requested information on “statistically how many people of color they put into this dog sniffing line versus white passengers.” Most seriously, he was emphatic that “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. 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 added, “I don’t want to cut my hair and wear a three-piece suit so that I’m treated like a first-class citizen.”

In a comment on Andre’s Instagram post, the official Melbourne Airport account said they were “following up” on the comedian’s complaint. “Melbourne Airport does not tolerate racism in any form,” the account wrote. “We welcome ALL passengers to Melbourne, and we expect everyone to be treated equally.”

This may be too little too late for Andre, who likened the “dog sniffing program” to “Giuliani stop-and-frisk-esque nonsense.” “It’s providing a less safe experience for Black, brown, Indigenous, and immigrant passengers. It has nothing to do with safety,” he concluded. “It has everything to do with racial harassment.”

 
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