Heavy/Getty Bebe Rexha says she was banned from taking her Lufthansa flight on August 17, 2024.
Pop star Bebe Rexha believes she was the victim of a hate crime after being banned from boarding her Lufthansa flight, according to videos she posted in her Instagram Stories on August 17, 2024. Rexha, who mentored contestants during season 20 of “American Idol,” shared two videos of her sobbing and wiping away her running eye makeup, clearly shaken up by the incident.
Rexha was at Munich International Airport in Germany, according to TMZ. It’s not clear where she was flying to, but she explained in her Stories that she was “threatened” and thinks she was banned from her flight because she spoke to a security agent in Albanian.
“I believe this to be a hate crime because I’m Albanian,” she wrote in one of her Stories.
Bebe Rexha Accuses Airline’s Security Agent of Mental Abuse
In Rexha’s first posted video, she wiped away tears as she shakily said, “The supervisor on the flight (for) Lufthansa is threatening me.”
In text over the video, Rexha tagged the airline and wrote, “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.”
After posting another video of her continuing to cry with her passport in her hand, Rexha added a text-only Story further explaining her predicament.
“I believe this to be a hate crime because I am Albanian,” she wrote. “He would not let me take his name. He continued to mentally abuse me to make me feel like he was more powerful then 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.”
Rexha then shared a Story posted by a fan account devoted to her that said, “@lufthansa please make sure @beberexha makes it home safe. @munich_airport please investigate the male officer who threatened a women @beberexha for speaking Albanian pull your cameras.”
According to the Balkan Transitional Justice program, there’s a long history of cultural tensions between the “ethnic Macedonian majority and the country’s second largest community, the ethnic Albanians.”
A rep from Lufthansa told TMZ that they are in “direct contact with Bebe” to investigate the situation and that “diversity and equal opportunity are core values to their company.”
Bebe Rexha Visited Her Dad’s Homeland in July
Though Rexha was born in the U.S., her parents are of Albanian descent. In an undated TikTok video, is seen explaining in an interview, “My father is from Dibra in Macedonia. My mother’s grandparents are from Gostivar because we have so many, like darsmas and something…a lot of them, so we always visiting.”
Rexha’s dad immigrated to the U.S. when he was 21, per the BBC. In 2018, the singer told the outlet that, growing up in a “very strict” household, her “mum and dad worked really hard but they never let me know that we had no money.”
As one of multiple chart-topping performers of Albanian descent, including Rita Ora and Dua Lipa, Rexha told the BBC, “There’s something in the water over there. We’re strong. We’re built like horses and we can withstand anything.”
But her parents initially looked down on her music career, she told the BBC, explaining, “Music was seen as a bad thing. My dad was like, ‘That’s the devil’s career.'”
On July 29, Rexha shared on Instagram that she was visiting Macedonia, a country in the Balkans that shares a border with Albania.
“After 12 years, I returned to my dad’s hometown in Diber, Macedonia,” she wrote. “Reconnecting with my roots and family was deeply emotional. Visiting my grandfather’s grave was especially meaningful, as I couldn’t attend his funeral in time while on tour. Family means everything to me, and this visit reminded me of the importance of our bonds. ❤️”
When some commenters questioned why she considers herself Albanian when her family technically is from nearby Macedonia, Rexha wrote, “Albania, Kosova,Macedonia, Montenegro Presheva for me they are all my ALBANIA”
In a July 31 post, Rexha shared video footage of her singing opera and said she was inspired growing up, made famous by Albanian performer Inva Mula, while sitting at a restaurant on her trip.
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‘American Idol’ Mentor Banned From Flight, Alleges ‘Hate Crime’ by Security Agent