Tan France Says He's Not 'A Damn Security Risk' After TSA Experience

The "Queer Eye" star said he was told he's on a security "list of concern."
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Tan France called out the Transportation Security Administration on Wednesday for the treatment he received from airport agents.

The “Queer Eye” star tweeted at the official TSA account about recent experiences at airport security, and also vented about the incidents on his Instagram story. France, who is of Pakistani descent, made it clear that he wouldn’t tolerate discrimination.

A TSA account suggested in a reply that France contact the DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program, which assists travelers who experience issues in airport screenings and security. The agency also provided a statement to The Hill, stating travelers are screened “regardless of race, gender, or religion.”

“TSA cannot comment on the security designation for specific individuals, and there are a number of reasons a passenger can be selected for additional screening, including by random designation,” the agency said in the statement.

HuffPost has reached out to TSA for further comment.

France went into more detail on Instagram, saying he was “fucking fuming.” The style icon said that he is a member of TSA Precheck, a program that allows travelers to move through security more quickly if they’ve undergone prior screening by the U.S. government.

France said TSA agents told him he could not go through the TSA Precheck line because his name was on a “list of concern.” He said he was searched and patted down while his bags were inspected “for a good 45 minutes.”

“I know why I’m being profiled,” he said on Instagram, tagging TSA.

France’s experience is “all too representative of what countless South Asian, Muslim, Arab, and Middle Eastern travelers deal experience of racial and religious profiling at the hands of government,” Suman Raghunathan, executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together, told HuffPost in an email.

“It is unacceptable, unconstitutional, and indeed un-American that individuals (including Mr. France) are subjected to additional screenings simply by virtue of their skin color, their perceived national origin,” Raghunathan said. “Many in our communities continue to live in fear in an overall climate of division, hatred, and anti-Muslim sentiment, fanned by the current administration.”

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