Rami Malek recalls a racial profiling incident when he was ‘thrown’ on the hood of a cop car as a liquor store robbery suspect

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Rami Malek USA - 94th Academy Awards - Los Angeles
Photo credit: depositphotos.com

In a candid interview with The Guardian, Rami Malek shared his encounters with racial discrimination as an Egyptian-American, highlighting a specific incident where law enforcement mistakenly profiled him, resulting in him being thrown on the hood of a police car.

“I got thrown on the bonnet of an LAPD cop car because someone had robbed a liquor store and stolen a woman’s bag,” Malek explained. “They said the [thief] was of Latin descent and, ‘You fit the description.’ I remember how hot that engine was, they must have been racing over there and it was almost burning my hands.”

Rami Malek 91st Academy Awards - Press Room 24 Feb 2019
February 24, 2019: Rami Malek at the 91st Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre. Photo credit: depositphotos.com

The acclaimed Mr. Robot actor was fortunate to have a quick-thinking companion present who could rectify the officers’ misconception about Malek’s ethnicity.

“My friend, who was Caucasian, was clever enough to go, ‘Actually, sir, he’s Egyptian. Not Latin,'” Malek recalled. “I remember laughing on the cop car, thinking, ‘OK, this is a very precarious situation. I may well be going to jail for something I’ve not done.'”

Malek expressed concern about potential increased discrimination against immigrants in America with Donald Trump‘s upcoming inauguration on Jan. 20. He referenced former President Barack Obama‘s literary works Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope as continuing sources of inspiration, particularly when electoral outcomes prove disappointing.

Rami Malek Golden Globe Awards 2020, Arrivals - Los Angeles, USA
LOS ANGELES, USA. January 06, 2020: Rami Malek arriving at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Photo credit: depositphotos.com

“The idea that a man with a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas could become president of the United States, it was one of the most hopeful moments from the story of the American dream,” Malek said. “That’s been flipped on its head. I always look at situations like this and just hope that it brings out the absolute best in us.”


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