American comedian and TV actor Jessica Moore, also known as Jess Hilarious, has apologised for racially profiling a group of Sikh men “based on their appearance” after she got them removed from a plane on Saturday, who she claimed were making her “nervous”.
“I was unaware of Sikhs as well. A lot of them reached out to me, educated me on who they are and what they stand for and how they help the world in different ways. I didn’t know that,” she said in an Instagram video.
“I am apologising because there’s a whole community of people out there that I offended and I didn’t know of. I didn’t know them.”
But she denied she got the turbaned Sikh men removed from the flight.
The Newsweek reported that the social media star posted a tweet which has been since deleted, following which the plane was allegedly evacuated and four male Sikh passengers were allegedly deplaned.
A Twitter video showed a turbaned man walking out through a door with Ms Moore gasping and saying “where are you going! Where are you going!”.
In another social media post she angrily said that she felt “threatened”. Once back in the plane, she said the flight was fully boarded and “I don’t see those people”.
Following criticism online and on social media, the TV actor and comedian said issued an apology for her “insensitive and ignorant behavior”, but said she’s not a racist.
"We have Muslims in my family, however, I was totally unaware of the different types of Muslim, so yes, I admit I'm ignorant to the facts so teach me."
She later said she was defensive in her apology. She also said that she wasn’t aware of the Christchurch shooting in which 50 worshippers had been killed.
“The feeling of anger and hurt about this situation is very familiar to me, especially being a black woman. So, I should definitely empathise more with being racially profiled,” she said.
“I’m not sure if these particular individuals that were on the plane are aware of my actions by now. But either way, I would love to apologise personally to them for my insensitive and ignorant behaviour,” Ms Moore added.
