8 Celebrities Who Say They Were Racially Profiled By Police

“I may well be going to jail for something I’ve not done.”

It’s no secret that racism is still an extremely prevalent issue that affects so many members of the Black community and other minority groups in the United States. Even the rich and famous are regularly impacted by these injustices, especially when it comes to interactions with the police.

So many stars have shared that they’ve faced racial profiling at the hands of the authorities -- whether that meant getting unjustly getting pulled over or being accused of a crime. These celebs have all shared their stories in the hopes of spreading awareness of the racial profiling that still occurs on a daily basis.

Find out what happened to these stars…

Rami Malek

Rami Malek recently opened up about an experience in which he said he ended up getting “thrown” against the hood of a cop car by police officers in Los Angeles. At the time, authorities were looking for a Latin man who had stolen a woman’s purse and pulled Rami aside because he “fit the description,” even though he’s actually Egyptian.

“I remember how hot that engine was, they must have been racing over there and it was almost burning my hands. My friend, who was Caucasian, was clever enough to go, ‘Actually, sir, he’s Egyptian. Not Latin.’ I remember laughing on the cop car, thinking, ‘OK, this is a very precarious situation. I may well be going to jail for something I’ve not done,’” Rami told The Guardian.

Eric André

Eric André says he was once “racially profiled” by authorities while traveling through Australia. He explained that he was at the Melbourne airport on his way to a shoot when he was “detained” and “pulled out of a lineup and put in a special line.” He was then thoroughly sniffed by a police dog.

“It's one of the many times I’ve been racially profiled at the airport. So this is a message for all Black, brown and Indigenous people traveling through Melbourne today, especially if you’re traveling through Qantas International by Terminal 2: Please be careful,” Eric said in an Instagram video.

He continued, “They are searching Black, brown and Indigenous people. Please let me know if anybody knows the names of those officers with the dogs or what that program is. If anybody has information on a discrimination Australian lawyer, I'm all ears.”

The Melbourne airport later apologized, sharing that it “does not tolerate racism in any form.”

Lenny Kravitz

Lenny Kravitz’s experience with racial profiling actually inspired his song “Bank Robber Man.” Lenny says he was out jogging in Miami when a robbery occurred at a nearby bank. The suspect was a Black man in a t-shirt, which aligned with Lenny’s appearance.

“I got stopped by about four or five police cars at gunpoint to my face, to my body, up against the car. It was basically racial profiling. I didn’t get let go until the witness, this old woman who was at the bank who saw the bank robber, came and said it wasn’t me. I was quite nervous because she was old and had just looked and saw brown skin and a t-shirt,” Lenny told Rolling Stone.

He continued, “But it was an interesting situation. It wasn’t the first time I’ve had guns pointed at my head by the police. That happened three or four times in my life as a teenager in Los Angeles for just riding around in a car in Beverly Hills. So I went right into the studio and recorded this. I was f--king pissed off. That’s why it’s an aggressive song.”

Tyler Perry

Back in 2012, Tyler Perry accused the Atlanta police of racially profiling him when they pulled him over for making an illegal left turn from a right lane. Tyler says he made the turn as a “safety precaution,” taught to him by his security team, because he was concerned someone may be following him. He said two caucasian police officers pulled him over and then harassed him, banging on his windows and trying to remove his key from the car.

“The officer on the driver’s side continued to badger me, ‘Why do you think someone is following you?’ I then said, ‘I think you guys need to just write the ticket and do whatever you need to do.’  It was so hostile. I was so confused. It was happening so fast that I could easily see how this situation could get out of hand very quickly. I didn’t feel safe at all,” Tyler wrote on Facebook.

It wasn’t until a third officer arrived, who was Black and recognized Tyler, that the situation was able to be deescalated.

Tyler added, “Now I know that there are many great officers, patrolmen and security guys out there. I am aware of that. But although we have made significant strides with racial profiling in this country, the world needs to know that we are still being racially profiled.”

Nas

In 2009, rapper Nas was pulled over on suspicion of DUI after allegedly being caught driving erratically. Authorities performed several sobriety tests that he failed, per TMZ. While he did admit to smoking weed before getting behind the wheel, he was eventually cleared -- but claimed it had all been a case of racial profiling.

“You know what it is ... profiling man ... but you, they can't stop a good man from shining, man,” he told TMZ.

J. Cole

J. Cole has often spoken out about injustices faced by the Black community and said that like many others, he’s been the victim of racial profiling on many occasions. In 2013, he says he was pulled over for having tinted windows -- but he believes it more had to do with his appearance.

“I was driving through Times Square and I just didn’t want to be seen. So I had my hat low and I think I was looking ‘suspicious’ just as a Black man with my brim low, when I was really just trying to cover my face. They came to my window, pulled me over. I feel like if I was a white man driving, they wouldn’t question me about my tints. They told me to roll down my back window; they look in my car as if they’re looking for something. I feel like that was the real thing, they were trying to catch somebody slipping,” he told BET.

James Blake

Former tennis star James Blake was once caught up in a case of mistaken identity by police that he believes was racially motivated. While standing outside of his hotel in New York, waiting for a car to take him to the U.S. Open, when he “looked up and saw someone in shorts and a T-shirt charging at him.” He was tackled to the ground by a plainclothes cop and after he “threw him down,” James was handcuffed.

“It was definitely scary and definitely crazy. In my mind there’s probably a race factor involved, but no matter what there’s no reason for anybody to do that to anybody,” James told the New York Daily News.

He continued, “You’d think they could say, ‘Hey, we want to talk to you. We are looking into something.’ I was just standing there. I wasn’t running. It’s not even close [to being okay]. It's blatantly unnecessary.’”

The NYPD later issued an apology.

Kodak Black

In 2022, rapper Kodak Black was pulled over on suspicion of his window tint being too dark -- but ultimately searched his entire vehicle after allegedly catching a whiff of marijuana. Police discovered 31 Oxycodone pills and nearly $75,000 in cash. He was then taken into custody and charged with possessing a controlled substance without a prescription and trafficking oxycodone.

Meanwhile, Kodak Black says the medication belonged to him and was prescribed after he was shot. In the end, he was placed on house arrest for violating his supervised release, which allegedly stated he had to “avoid drug use and obey all laws.”

“This S--t bogus Af I feel like This a character assassination issue Kuz theirs [sp] no way I should be getting harassed bout my tag being expired, that’s no reason to even search my car in the first place and going to jail about having my medication in the car is insane,” Kodak wrote in now-deleted posts on social media.

He continued, “I’m being racially profiled and as a black man in America I deserve my freedom especially with everything I do for my community I should be getting love , respect and support from the authorities ! To move freely , not getting arrested for expired tag and dark windows.”