Singer Bebe Rexha claimed she was threatened and banned from her flight for allegedly speaking Albanian to an airport security agent, adding that she was the victim of a hate crime.
The 34-year-old vocalist was traveling to the US when she was stopped from boarding her flight at Munich International Airport in Germany on Saturday.
“The supervisor for this flight on Lufthansa is threatening me,” Rexha emotionally alleged in an Instagram story while wiping away tears.
“Lufthansa, I’ve been threatened because I thought the security agent was Albanian,” she captioned the video. “I spoke to him in Albanian asking where to get my ticket and now he’s banning me from the flight.”
Rexha, whose family is of North Macedonian and Albanian descent, said the man abused his power while failing to identify himself.
“I believe this to be a hate crime because I am Albanian,” she said in a second post. “He 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.”
The “I’m Good (Blue)” singer claimed no female employee for Lufthansa would help her as her apparent abuser continued.
“Not one of the women at Lufthansa stepped in or said something,” Rexha added. “He would not give me his name. But I just found out he works for ATSG a service company document control hired by Lufthansa.”
After her investigation, Rexha found out the unnamed employee allegedly works for “ATSG,” an aviation service company hired by Lufthansa.
“I have never been so emotionally drained,” Rexha said in an update. “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.”
Along with the posts detailing her traveling nightmare, Rexha reshared an Instagram story from her mother’s account where legal action was threatened.
“Bebe was subjected to abusive conduct by an airport agent, which constituted a clear violation of my rights as a passenger,” Rexha’s mother Bukurije Rexha claimed on her account.
“The agent’s behavior was not only unprofessional but also discriminatory and degrading, causing significant emotional distress,” the protective mother added. “This incident may warrant legal action for harassment, emotional distress, and potential violations of applicable consumer protection and anti-discrimination laws.”
Bukurjie Rexha also outed Lufthansa and Munich airport to ensure her daughter got home safe and the employee faced consequences.
“Please investigate the male officer who threatened a woman for speaking Albanian, pull your cameras,” the older Rexha said.