Eric André has accused Melbourne Airport staff of racial profiling.
The comedian, 41, took to his Instagram account on Monday to share a video, in which he discussed events he said took place while traveling for more than 25 hours from New York to Brisbane, Australia.
"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," he said in the almost four-minute-long clip.
"It's one of the many times I've been racially profiled at the airport," he added, before sending a warning to his 2.9 million followers on the platform.
"This is a message for all Black, brown and Indigenous people traveling through Melbourne today, especially if you're traveling Qantas international by Terminal 2. Please be careful. They are searching Black, brown and Indigenous people," André continued.
Newsweek contacted Qantas for comment via email.
The host of the Eric André Show also asked his followers for help tracking down the names of the officers with the dogs and for information on an Australian discrimination lawyer.
"If anybody has information on statistically how many people of color they put into this dog-sniffing line versus white passengers, I'm assuming it doesn't reflect the percentage of white passengers versus POC passengers at any given time at that airport," he added.
André said he had traveled to Australia for work, and he set requirements for future jobs in the country.
"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. "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," the Adult Swim star said. "I do not want to be humiliated or racially discriminated against anymore at these airports. 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 that have this cockamamie procedure. I doubt it yields any safer world for anybody in Melbourne or Australia. I'd love to dig up the statistics on what is coming out of that program."
André concluded his message by saying the dog-sniffing program has "nothing to do with safety. It has everything to do with racial harassment."
"They'll be hearing more," he said, seemingly referring to Melbourne Airport and Qantas.
In the video's caption, André tagged Qantas, Melbourne Airport and the Australian Border Force: "@qantas @melbourneairportau @ausborderforce #racist #profiling #discrimination #dogsniffing #whitesupremacyisterrorism #whitesupremacyculture #racialharassment @nyupolicingproject."
The video has been viewed more than 631,000 times and has racked up more than 34,000 likes, with many commenters leaving the actor words of support.
"You know it's serious when he's serious," one Instagram user wrote.
"The fact that he posted this just tells me how bad the experience was," another added. "I've never seen Eric be so serious. Hope he gets sent all the info he needs."
"I'm so sorry that happened Eric. Melbourne is one of the most accepting states of all nationalities so I'm very p***ed off and hurt that this happened to you. It's not ok," a user commented.
Other users suggested the search may not have been racially motivated.
"Pretty sure they're mainly searching for food, you can't bring anything into Australia," one commenter wrote. "Me and my band guys sometimes have to do the embarrassing s*** and sometimes just walk straight through with no hassle."
Melbourne Airport's official Instagram account replied to André in the comments section of his video.
"Hi Eric, Melbourne Airport does not tolerate racism in any form. 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," the comment said.
It continued: "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. Kind regards, The Melbourne Airport team."
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