Pop singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha alleged she was a victim of a hate crime after being banned from a Munich-based Lufthansa flight for speaking Albanian to a security agent.
“I’ve been threatened because I thought the security agent was Albanian,” the singer captioned tearful videos posted to her Instagram Story on Saturday. “I spoke to him in Albanian asking where to get my ticket and now he is banning me from the flight.”
The dance/R&B musician, who has collaborated with Doja Cat, David Guetta, Eminem, and Florida Georgia Line, is of North Macedonian and Albanian descent.
“I believe this to be a hate crime because I am Albanian,” she wrote in a second Story post, which has since expired. “[The supervisor] would not let me take his name. He continued to mentally abuse me to make me feel like he was more powerful then [sic] he was. Not one of the women at @Lufthansa stepped in or said something.”
In a later update, the “I’m Good” singer shared that the airline had contacted her about the incident.
“I have never been so emotionally drained. @Lufthansa has direct messaged me but I urge them to do a full investigation on finding out who this man who was abusing his power is. An ‘I’m sorry’ is not gonna cut it this time,” she wrote.
In a final message shared Sunday, Rexha said she had made it back home. “Thank you everyone who messaged me and showed concern. I got home safe, thank God.”
In Entertainment Weekly and CNN statements, the airline said it is conducting an “internal review” on the matter.