Rami Malek claims he was once racially profiled by LA police

Rami Malek he claimed he was once a suspect in the alleged crime because authorities allegedly believed he “fit the description”.

“I was thrown onto the hood of a (Los Angeles Police Department) police car because someone robbed a liquor store and stole a woman’s bag,” the Oscar winner, 43, said in a statement. Watchman profile posted on Saturday, January 18. “They said he (the thief) was of Latin descent and ‘you fit the description.’

He added: “I remember how hot the engine was, they had to race there and it almost burned my hands. My friend, who was white, was smart enough to say, “Actually, sir, he is Egyptian. Not Latina.” I remember laughing in the police car and thinking, ‘Okay, this is a very precarious situation. I might go to jail for something I didn’t do.’

Malek is an Egyptian American whose parents immigrated from Cairo before he was born. IN Watchman profile, Málek did not provide further details about the alleged police incident or when it apparently occurred. The LAPD has not commented on the reported encounter. My Weekly asked for comment.

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Málek, meanwhile, has reportedly faced similar incidents of mistaken identity due to his origins.

“Traveling is difficult enough. Don’t make it harder for yourself,” he told the British daily. “I started to wonder what’s going on?” every time I tried to enter a country. There may be a moment these days. Then they say, ‘No, that’s the guy Bohemian Rhapsody. Let him pass.”

Malek, who he won an Oscar for his role in Bohemian Rhapsody as the frontman of Queen Freddie Mercurygrew up in LA with his parents and twin brother Themselves. Their Middle Eastern heritage was always obvious to the siblings.

“I don’t know how you ever got over it.” I am what is called ‘white,’ but I have very distinctive features and we definitely did not fit together,” recalled Málek on The Guardian. “We just had a strange way of perceiving people. … I don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse. Sometimes it hurts me. You can’t help it.”

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Málek also realizes how hard his parents tried to provide for twins.

“The school system in Los Angeles was not great. She hand wrote these long letters with a blue fountain pen explaining our situation. She said, ‘I’m going to give my kids every opportunity I can,'” Malek said. “I heard stories about her being pregnant with my brother and me and taking three buses — three different buses — to and from work.”