Bebe Rexha Says She Was 'Threatened' by Airport Security and Banned from Flight in Germany After Speaking Albanian
Rexha shared a tearful message on her Instagram Stories on Aug. 17, saying she was the victim of a "hate crime"
Bebe Rexha is alleging that she was the victim of a "hate crime."
The "I'm Good" singer, 34, shared a tearful message with fans on her Instagram Stories on Saturday, Aug. 17, claiming she was "threatened" and banned from a Lufthansa flight at Germany’s Munich Airport after she spoke to a "security agent" in Albanian.
Rexha's revelation came alongside a video of her crying in the airport, in which she told fans "the supervisor" of the flight was threatening her.
"I've been threatened because I thought the security agent was Albanian," she wrote over the clip. "I spoke to him in Albanian asking where to get my ticket and now he is banning me from the flight.”
The pop star elaborated in a follow-up Instagram Stories post that she believed "this to be a hate crime because I am Albanian."
"He would not let me take his name," Rexha wrote of the employee. "He continued to mentally abuse me to make me feel like he was more powerful [than] he was. Not one of the women at @Lufthansa stepped in or said something. He would not give me his name. But I just found out he works for ATSG a service company document control hired by Lufthansa."
In a statement provided to PEOPLE on Sunday, a spokesperson for Lufthansa said the airline "contacted Bebe Rexha directly yesterday to understand the situation and are conducting an internal review on the matter."
"As an international airline, we connect people and countries around the globe," the statement continued. "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.”
PEOPLE also reached out to Munich Airport for comment on Sunday, Aug. 18, but did not immediately hear back.
Rexha is of Albanian-North Macedonian descent, as her father is from North Macedonia and her mother was born in the U.S. with Albanian roots, per Billboard.
The Grammy-nominated musician's mother also shared messages of her own to Instagram following Rexha's experience in Germany. Bukurije Rexha, who goes by Bukie Rexha for short, used her Instagram Stories to call on the airport and airline to "find the agent," calling the behavior "discriminatory and degrading" and adding that it "may warrant legal action."
In her most recent Instagram Stories as of Sunday afternoon, Rexha wrote that she has "never been so emotionally drained," as she explained that the airline "direct messaged" her.
"But I urge them to do a full investigation on finding out who this man who was abusing his power is," Rexha wrote. "An 'I'm sorry' is not gonna cut it this time."
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