R&B singer Ari Lennox has revealed on social media that she was arrested in Amsterdam.
Lennox’s Twitter thread soon took a shocking turn after she initially tweeted “Hi Amsterdam” on Monday, November 29th. “Fuck Amsterdam security. They hate black people,” she then said. “They’re arresting me…I’m being arrested in Amsterdam for reacting to a woman racially profiling me,” she added. “I just want to go home. I’ll never leave my house again,” Lennox also tweeted.
As reported by Reuters, the U.S. artist was arrested at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport for allegedly disturbing public order. According to the Dutch military police, she accused the airport’s staff of racial discrimination. They said Lennox was detained due to her aggressive behaviour towards an airline official, and for also being intoxicated in public.
“Our unit found a woman full of emotions, that wouldn’t calm down,” their spokesman Robert van Kapel said. “That’s why she had to be taken into custody.”
It’s still unclear how long Lennox will be held in custody in Amsterdam. As revealed by van Kapel, police are investigating claims of potential threats made by Lennox as the incident unfolded.
Lennox, whose real name is Courtney Shanade Salter, is the first female artist signed to J. Cole’s record label, Dreamville Records. After releasing her first EP Pho via the label in 2016, she followed it up with her debut studio album, Shea Butter Baby, in 2019. The titular track from the album has been streamed almost 114 million times on Spotify.
Although it only peaked at number 67 on the U.S. Billboard 200, Shea Butter Baby was widely acclaimed by critics: it was named on several album of the year lists, including by Associated Press, Billboard, Complex, and NPR.
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Check out ‘Shea Butter Baby’ by Ari Lennox:
