Riz Ahmed blames ‘racial profiling’ in US for keeping him off flight ahead of ‘Star Wars’ event

NEW YORK: Prominent British-Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed, who played a role in the in 2016’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”, says he missed a convention held in April in Chicago to celebrate the movie— because racial profiling got him offloaded from a flight, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Ahmed, 36, said US Homeland Security blocked him from boarding a Chicago-bound flight, forcing him to miss a scheduled appearance at the Windy City’s Star Wars Celebration.

At the time of the cancellation, the Star Wars Celebration posted: ‘We’re so sorry to announce that due to circumstances beyond his control, Riz Ahmed will be canceling his full appearance.

Later, revealing his ordeal at another event, the actor spoke about the surge of Islamophobia and the Muslim representation in Hollywood.

“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,” he added.