Bebe Rexha says she was ‘threatened’ before flight after she spoke in Albanian

Bebe Rexha says she was threatened and banned from a flight after speaking to a security agent in Albanian.

Rexha, whose family is of North Macedonian and Albanian descent, posted a video Aug. 17 of herself crying to her Instagram story, explaining the alleged incident and tagging the airline Lufthansa.

“I’ve been threatened because I thought the security agent was Albanian. I spoke to him in Albanian asking where to get my ticket and now he is banning me from the flight,” she wrote over the video.

In another post, she called the altercation a “hate crime.”

“I believe this to be a hate crime because I am Albanian,” she said.

Lufthansa said in a statement that the airline reached out to Rexha and is “in direct contact with her to understand the situation.”

“As an international airline, we connect people and countries around the globe. Our guests and employees come from all over the world. Diversity and equal opportunity are core values for our company and our corporate culture. We do not tolerate any discriminatory behavior of any kind,” the airline’s statement read.

Rexha said the security agent did not let her note his name and “continued to mentally abuse me to make me feel like he was more powerful.” She later said she learned the security agent worked for a company "hired by Lufthansa" and accused representatives for the airline of not intervening.

It's unclear if Rexha was able to board her flight. TODAY.com has reached out to representatives for Rexha.

In June 2023, Rexha also took to social media to share photos of her face after she was hit by a cellphone thrown by a concertgoer in the crowd at her show in New York.

Rexha was hospitalized after she was struck, and photos later showed that she was left with a bruised eye and bandaged eyebrow.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com