Morrissey alleges sexual assault during airport security pat-down
By Will Stroude
Morrissey has accused an airport security officer of sexually assaulting him during a pat-down at San Francisco International Airport.
The former Smiths frontman has issued a statement through fan site True To You claiming that a “general manager on duty” at the airport “groped [his] penis and testicles” during a recent security screening – an accusation which officials have denied.
The outspoken 56-year-old wrote: “I went through the usual airport security procedure including the stand-up ‘scanner’, and all was well – no bleeps and nothing unusual.
“Before I could gather my belongings from the usual array of trays I was approached by an ‘airport security officer’ who stopped me, crouched before me and groped my penis and testicles.”
“The officer who sexually assaulted me was identified as the General Manager On Duty. Luckily I was accompanied by two members of British Airways Special Services, who were horrified at the sexual attack and suggested that I lodge a complaint.”
He went on: “In the interests of imperishable bureaucracy my submitted complaint against this ‘officer’ will obviously be either unread or ignored because, as we all know, on matters of officialism it is not possible to be pleasantly surprised by anything at all.
“However, what is clear is that, should you find yourself traveling through San Francisco International Airport, you should expect sexual abuse from the so-called ‘security officers’ who, we are unconvincingly warned, are acting only for our security.”
Responding the the claims, the Transport Security Administration says it has reviewed the footage and that the singer was in fact subjected to a routine pat-down.
“TSA takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and strives to treat every passenger with dignity and respect.” the organisation said in a statement.
“Upon review of closed circuit TV footage, TSA determined that the supervised officer followed standard operating procedures in the screening of this individual.”
Morrissey recently took aim at Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran, claiming the pair’s success proved music “can’t possibly get any worse”.
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