Jason Derulo has called out an airline for racism, claiming he was "disrespected" by staff on board a flight.
The singer took to Instagram on Thursday night (NZ time) over frustrations after trying to board an American Airlines flight from Miami to Los Angeles.
Derulo claimed he was sworn at by the captain and met with 15 police officers after demanding to disembark due to being disrespected, and causing delays because he was told he couldn't fly with his 19 bags.
He claims his entourage were told to pay more than US$4000 (NZ$5572) for checking in extra luggage, but the singer refused and said it was because he's an elite customer and he's usually allowed to travel with as much baggage as he wants. INSTAGRAM
But American Airlines told Local 10 News that even the most elite customers are able to check just three bags for free.
In a video obtained by The Daily Mail, the 27-year-old singer said that he and his friends met with police officers after disembarking the plane, and things quickly changed when they realised he was a celebrity.
In the video he said that just because he had a "platform" and the situation was resolved, it was inexcusable.
"If I was the average Joe I might have been in handcuffs.
"That's why it feels like a racial issue," Derulo said.
However, a police report filed by the Miami-Dade police department paints a different picture.
ABC news reported that police said an American Airlines employee approached an officer saying that passengers arrived at 4:15pm for a 5pm flight saying they "all smelled of marijuana and were starting to get aggressive".
It said the group refused to give their IDs to staff when they disembarked and initially also refused to hand them to police.
Derulo said he started filming on Instagram live after police asked him for his ID because he "wasn't going to let nothing go down".
An American Airlines statement said: "A passenger elected to deplane in order to travel with their checked bags. The passenger has been rebooked with his checked bags on a later flight this evening."
No arrests were made and the group continued on to Los Angeles, according to police.
Newshub.
