Chad Buchanan/Getty Images for LMVHThe skies were not so friendly to Michael Colyar recently.
The veteran African-American actor and comic best known for his stint on the Barbershop TV series just wanted to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride when he boarded a United Airlines flight at Washington D.C.'s Dulles International Airport.
Unfortunately, Colyar claims he was booted off the flight after someone played the race card—and it wasn't him. Here's what he said.
The funnyman took to the Web to vent about what he claimed was racist behavior on the part of a United crew member.
According to Colyar's blog on Facebook, shortly after boarding early as part of United's "Premiere Executive" perk, a flight attendant asked him to put his computer bag and hat from the overhead storage bin under his seat to accommodate the suitcase of a white female passenger who arrived late.
So the thespian refused, as he already had another bag under the seat and that would've eliminated his legroom for the four-and-a-half hour flight to come. He then claimed the flight attendant began whispering to her coworkers and giving him "nasty looks."
Fearing for his comfort and safety (and scared about what kind of food she might give him), Colyar asked to speak to a flight supervisor. He ended up being met by the gate agent, and then the captain, and demanded to file a formal complaint. Not long after, security asked him to step off the plane. After putting up a protest, the comedian disembarked and missed his flight.
"The flight attendant and her friend got just what they wanted, the n----r off the plane. I'm sure they feel a great triumph in putting an uppity n----r in his place. After all, after 9-11 went down the need for courtesy and fairness flew out the window," vented Colyar. "You can't ask two questions or speak up for what is right because they know that with no justification at all they can throw you off the plane and even have you arrested. "
Paging Al Sharpton!
Colyar, who voiced the part of Buford in Disney's The Princess and the Frog and also had small roles in House Party 3 and Hot Shots Part Deux, has since urged his Twitter followers to let United know how badly their crew handled the situation.
Responding to a request for comment, a United Airlines spokesperson tells E! News that the airline is investigating the incident and talking to other passengers who witnessed the confrontation.
"As a global airline with a diverse workforce, United has zero tolerance for any type of discrimination and we take every such matter seriously," said the company in a statement. "We spoke to Mr. Colyar Wednesday so that we can address his concerns, and committed to get back to him as we learn more from our coworkers and other customers onboard."
A source close to the situation also tells E! News that Colyar wasn't removed from the plane because he was black, but because he was becoming unruly and refused entreaties to share space.
"He wanted to have his hat in the overhead bin and not under him. The flight attendant wanted the bag over and the hat underneath, to share the space," said the source.
—Additional reporting by Sharareh Drury