Euphoria Star Claims She Was Detained By ICE

By TeeJay Small
| Published 8 seconds ago

If you’ve been keeping up with the news, you may already know that ICE enforcers have been sent to airports all across the United States, in order to aid the TSA amidst staffing shortages. Unfortunately, not every flyer has found this back-up force helpful. Some have complained that ICE aren’t trained to properly do the job, while others have alleged that ICE agents are spending their time standing around, not helping at all.

For one intrepid traveler and Netflix actress, ICE has become a major thorn in an otherwise seamless travel experience. The star, Natasha Lyonne, took to X to describe a recent run-in with the Homeland Security force that left her unable to appear on the The Drew Barrymore Show as previously scheduled. In her post, Lyonne describes being detained after getting kicked off an April 7 flight from Los Angeles to New York.

Conflicting Sources Tell Conflicting Stories

Specifically, the X post explains that Natasha Lyonne “took a Lunesta once seated, to ensure some shut eye on the Delta One red eye flight.” Lyonne continued to claim “ICE had other plans & I was detained instead. Sign of the times, I guess … Never had a problem with Delta or TSA before.” The actress concluded her remarks with a thank you to tenured TSA officials, and an apology to other travelers who may have been disrupted by her altercation.

Curiously, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security denies that this event ever took place, after a bit of investigating from reporters at Variety. DHS told the outlet “Neither ICE nor TSA escorted or detained Natasha Lyonne.” Clearly, someone isn’t being entirely truthful in this exchange, though recent developments at the government agency show that their record keeping leaves much to be desired.

Not An Ideal Travel Scenario

For now, it’s unclear whether Natasha Lyonne was in fact detained by ICE, or if there was a larger misunderstanding at play. Either way, she missed her slot on The Drew Barrymore Show, where she was going to promote her upcoming turn on HBO’s Euphoria.

Lyonne is perhaps best known for portraying Nicky on Orange Is The New Black, and Nadia Vulvokov on Netflix’s Russian Doll. She also appears in the Focus Features documentary Lorne, which is currently playing in select theaters. Hopefully, this alleged ICE interaction is a one-off, and not a “sign of the times,” as Lyonne suggests.