American comedian Eric Andr\u00e9 says he was racially profiled at Melbourne Airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Emmy-nominated host of \u201cThe Eric Andr\u00e9 Show\u201d said he was traveling from Los Angeles to Brisbane, Australia, for a shoot and had a stopover in Melbourne, where he was \u201cput in a special line\u201d and \u201csniffed thoroughly by a dog.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of the many times I\u2019ve been racially profiled at the airport,\u201d Andr\u00e9, 41, said in an Instagram video<\/a> Sunday, warning viewers flying through Melbourne to \u201cplease be careful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey are searching Black, brown and Indigenous people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A spokesperson for the airport told NBC News on Tuesday that \u201cMelbourne Airport does not tolerate racism in any form.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe welcome all passengers to Melbourne, and we expect everyone to be treated equally,\u201d the spokesperson said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The spokesperson added that the airport had asked the Australian Border Force and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) to investigate, and that those agencies had responded to Andr\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a statement, a DAFF spokesperson said all passengers arriving in Australia are \u201cpart of biosecurity screening processes for things such as fresh fruit or vegetables, plants and food, or soil on footwear or recreational equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of the screening, the spokesperson said, travelers might be subjected to baggage scans through X-rays or \u201cbe subject to individual inspections and unpacking of baggage, or by general screening with the assistance of our highly trained dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAny traveler coming into Australia will experience some or all of these screening measures,\u201d the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Australian Border Force referred NBC News to its comment on Andr\u00e9\u2019s Instagram post Monday that it was not involved in the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Andr\u00e9 asked anyone hiring him for future work in Australia to provide him with a security escort through Melbourne Airport, or that his itinerary allow him to avoid it altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI do not feel safe in the Melbourne airport. I do not want to be humiliated or racially discriminated against anymore at these airports,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He asked his followers for leads on discrimination lawyers in Australia as well as information on what he called a \u201cGiuliani stop-and-frisk-esque nonsense program,\u201d which he criticized as ineffective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to cut my hair and wear a three-piece suit so that I\u2019m treated like a first-class citizen,\u201d Andr\u00e9 said in the video. \u201cI shouldn\u2019t be made to feel that I am unaccepted by entering a country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two years ago, Andr\u00e9 and fellow comedian and actor Clayton English sued over a drug search program<\/a> at the Atlanta airport, saying police had racially profiled and illegally stopped them. They filed an appeal in January after the lawsuit was dismissed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n