Entertainment

Jason Derulo Accuses American Airlines Of Racism

Published on: February 13, 2017 at 11:02 AM
By Stacey Cole

Jason Derulo is accusing American Airlines of racial discrimination, according to the New York Daily News . In the era of the Donald Trump presidency, every report linking an airline to racial discrimination becomes a huge story, but when a famous R&B star is involved in it, it makes headlines.

This was the case with Jason Derulo on his flight on American Airlines bound for Los Angeles. The “Wiggle” hitmaker is accusing the airline of racial discrimination after one of its employees refused to let a member of Derulo’s crew check extra luggage.

But the situation got completely out of control when the employee called more than a dozen cops on the singer’s entourage. Derulo, who demanded the plane to turn around, told TMZ he would be in “f***ing” handcuffs if he weren’t Jason Derulo.

“It’s 100% racial because the initial thought in people’s minds is that ‘these hoodlums are causing problems.’”

Jason Derulo and his crew were running late for their flight, so they left behind one member to check a total of 19 bags. But even Derulo’s status as a Concierge Key member, which he earned after spending millions of dollars on American Airlines, doesn’t allow checking more than three bags each.

Jason Derulo had already passed all airport checkpoints and got on the plane when his crew member called him and said the American Airlines’ employee was charging him $6,000 for the extra luggage.

Jason Derulo reacted immediately and demanded the plane turn around. And they did.

“When I get on the ground here, there’s 15 police officers waiting for us.”

Jason Derulo later took to Instagram to tell his 3 million followers about the incident involving the apparent case of racial discrimination. In a since-deleted post, the “Wiggle” hitmaker said calling 15 police officers on him felt as if he was “a criminal,” and added that they changed “gears” as soon as they found out who he really was.

“F*** that!! I want answers.”

Speaking to TMZ , Jason Derulo revealed that the captain of the plane was also involved in the incident and alleges that he used profanity and kept talking to the R&B star in a patronizing way.

“Nothing is about to happen that’s not supposed to happen because of who I am.”

Jason Derulo, who appears to be outraged over the fact that his celebrity status failed him this time, says he even started a live stream video of the incident and it allegedly scared off the police officers and “the higher-ups at American Airlines,” who Derulo says “had a gear in mind.”

After a long and heated debate between Jason Derulo and the police officers, the singer and his crew members were eventually placed in an American Airlines lounge area at Miami International Airport, and then they got on a plane bound for Los Angeles.

Even though the incident was resolved peacefully, Jason Derulo still went public with his accusations of racial discrimination, but then deleted his Instagram post a few days later.

While Jason Derulo was one of the performers at Sunday’s Grammy awards ceremony, the singer will get one more chance to wiggle it a few days later, according to E! Online . The 27-year-old “Get Ugly” singer is set to perform at the An Unforgettable Evening gala on February 16.

The event, which benefits the Women’s Cancer Research Fund, will be headlined by Jason Derulo at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. The Tig Notaro-hosted event will feature the cream of the crop celebrities and will honor Nocturnal Animals director Tom Ford with the Courage Award.

[Featured Image by Araya Diaz/Getty Images]

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