NEW YORK – Raising many questions recently about her religious beliefs, Hollywood actress Lindsay Lohan said she was asked to remove her headscarf at Heathrow airport on her way to New York recently, saying the experience freaked her out.
“I was wearing a headscarf and I got stopped at the airport and racially profiled for the first time in my life,” she told ITV’s Good Morning Britain, The Guardian reported on Wednesday, February 22.
“She opened my passport and saw ‘Lindsay Lohan’ and started immediately apologizing but then said, ‘Please take off your head scarf.’”
The 30-year-old actress has raised many eyebrows recently after appearing in Turkey in what many perceived as a Muslims’ hijab.
Last month, the actress deleted all the photos on her official Instagram page, leaving only a bio which read “Alaikum Salam,” which made many fans speculate that Lohan has become Muslim.
Many fans welcomed Lohan’s claimed conversion to Islam, which came a year after she was first pictured while holding a Qur’an.
Yet, in a recent interview on Kuwaiti TV, she denied rumors that she was reverting to Islam, referring to Islam as a ‘beautiful’ religion.
Recalling her experience at Heathrow airport, the actor, 30, said she was “scared” by what such interventions might mean for others.
“How would another woman who doesn’t feel comfortable taking off her headscarf feel?” she said.
“That was really interesting to me.”
Interviewer Susanna Reid asked if the incident “freaked her out”, so which Lohan replied: “It did, I’m from New York, I was born and raised there so I was a little intimidated.”
Enquiring whether Lohan was considering converting to Islam, the actor replied that she was undecided but “out of respect to certain countries that I go to, I feel more comfortable acting the same as the other women. That’s just a personal respect issue for me.”
A spokeswoman for Heathrow airport said: “Heathrow respects the cultural and religious needs of all passengers travelling through the airport. We work hard to provide our passengers with great service while ensuring everyone remains safe and secure.”
A Home Office spokeswoman added: “Those who land at a UK airport to catch a connecting flight would usually have their documentation checked.”