Singer Bebe Rexha said she was threatened and “mentally abused” by airport officials because she is Albanian.
The 34-year-old posted a tearful video on Instagram with the caption: “I was threatened because the security officer thought I was Albanian.
I spoke to him in Albanian, asked him where I could get my ticket and now he is kicking me off the plane” She was allowed to board the flight from Munich airport.
In a post to her 12 million followers on Saturday, she said she considered the incident a “hate crime” because of her ethnicity.
Rexha claimed the male employee, who she refused to name, “continued to psychologically abuse me” and that the female employee did not intervene.
The star, who has worked with artists such as Rita Ora and Louis Tomlinson and had a UK number one hit with David Guetta’s “I’m Good (Blue),” said she believed the man worked for a company that serves Lufthansa.
The German airline said it was seeking to “understand the situation” and “does not tolerate discriminatory behaviour of any kind.”
“We have reached out to Bebe Rexha and are in direct contact with her to understand the situation,” a spokesperson said.
“As an international airline, we connect people and countries around the world. Our guests and employees come from all over the world,” the spokesperson added.
“Diversity and equal opportunity are core values ​​of our company and our corporate culture.”
“We do not tolerate discriminatory behaviour of any kind.”
Rexha then confirmed she had been contacted by Lufthansa and called them, asking them to fully investigate the incident.
As well as her own hits, including four singles that reached the top 10 in the UK, the singer has also written songs for stars such as Selena Gomez and Eminem.