Bebe Rexha claims she was “threatened” by a security guard for speaking Albanian, she said in an emotional video she posted to her Instagram Story on Saturday.
Sharing footage of herself sobbing with her 11.9 followers, the 34-year-old singer explained that she was emotional after reportedly being banned from her Lufthansa flight from Munich Airport.
“I was threatened because I thought the security guard was Albanian. I spoke to him in Albanian and asked where I could get my ticket and now he is banning me from the flight,” she alleged.
In a second video, made after the incident, Rexha filmed herself crying with mascara running down her face, then recounted in detail what had happened.
“I believe this is a hate crime because I am Albanian,” she wrote in a statement. “He did not want me to use his name. He continued to mentally abuse me to make me feel more powerful than he was.”
Bebe Rexha claims she was ‘threatened’ by a security guard for speaking Albanian in an emotional new video she posted to her Instagram Story on Saturday
She continued: ‘None of the women at @Lufthansa intervened or said anything. He wouldn’t give me his name. But I just found out he works for ATSG, a service company that does document checking and is hired by Lufthansa.’
Rexha then reposted a plea from another Instagram user, asking for the singer to be “brought home safely” from Munich airport and for “the male officer who threatened a woman” for speaking Albanian to be “investigated.”
The New York-born artist, who is of Albanian-North Macedonian descent, was born in Brooklyn and moved to nearby Staten Island at the age of six.
Her father, Flamur, was born in Debar, North Macedonia, when it was still part of Yugoslavia. At the age of 21, he emigrated to America.
Her mother, who also has Albanian roots, was born in the United States.
Rexha’s official first name, Bleta, means “bee” in Albanian.
She previously said that her mother and father called her by her nickname Bebe from a young age.
The four-time Grammy nominee’s posts come just a month after she declared in a series of passionate tweets that she’s “had enough” of the music industry.
The star also claimed that with her information she could “bring down a HUGE part of this industry,” but she did not provide details as she expressed her frustration over the matter.
Sharing footage of herself sobbing with her 11.9 followers, the 34-year-old singer explained that she was emotional because the man had allegedly banned her from “the flight” of Lufthansa airline.
“I was threatened because I thought the security guard was Albanian. I spoke to him in Albanian and asked where I could get my ticket and now he is banning me from the flight,” she alleged.
“I believe this is a hate crime because I am Albanian,” she wrote in a statement. “He did not want me to use his name. He continued to mentally abuse me to make me feel more powerful than he was.”
“I have been UNDERMINED. I have been silent for so long. I didn’t see the signs even though people constantly bring them up and they were SO CLEAR,” she wrote in a post shared with X.
She continued, “And when I opened my mouth, I was silenced and PUNISHED by this industry. Things have to change or I’m telling ALL my truths. The good, the bad, and the ugly.”
The singer, who rose to fame after helping to write Eminem’s 2013 hit single The Monster, returned to the platform to make it clear that her message was “not just out of anger.”
“It’s sadness. I’m sitting in my hotel room in London crying my eyes out,” she wrote. “I’ve felt hopeless for a long time. I’ve walked around this city a lot and met fans and they’ve really sparked something in me.”
In response to a fan who asked under the post “what happened again,” Rexha replied, “Again? You haven’t even heard 5 percent. You have NO IDEA.”
When asked who was stopping her from speaking out, the musician wrote back, “THEY ARE PUNISHING YOU.”
The New York-born artist, who is of Albanian-North Macedonian descent, was born in Brooklyn and moved to nearby Staten Island when she was six; seen in April 2024
After an X user insinuated that Rexha was going on a rant to collect clothes for her new single, I’m the Drama, she responded with, “I’M SO READY.”
Throughout her career, Rexha has written songs for Selena Gomez, Nick Jonas, Iggy Azalea, Florida Georgia Line, Tate McRae, Mickey Guyton and more.