“Star Wars” actor Riz Ahmed says he missed a Chicago fan convention — because racial profiling got him booted off a flight, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Ahmed — who played titular-line-uttering pilot Bhodi Rook in 2016’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” — shared his story during a summit held by talent group Creative Artists Agency last week.
Homeland Security blocked him from boarding a Chicago-bound flight in April, forcing him to miss a scheduled appearance at the Windy City’s Star Wars Celebration, he said.
The London-born actor, who is of Pakistani descent, said he has endured unnecessary stops and searches in airports for at least the last 15 years — treatment that belongs a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, not the US in 2019, he added.
“[Hasan Minhaj] can win a Peabody, I can win an Emmy, Ibtihaj Muhammad can go to the Olympics, but some of these obstacles are systemic, and we can’t really face them alone, we need your help,” he told the audience.
“I’m basically here to ask for your help, because it’s really scary to be a Muslim right now, super scary. I’ve often wondered, is this going to be the year when they round us up, if this is going to be the year they put Trump’s registry into action. If this is going to be the year they ship us all off.”
Trump endorsed a registry of Muslim immigrants after being asked about the notion during his 2016 campaign, but he and his campaign later denied he was considering it.