TSA agents stop Star Wars actor over 'lightsaber'
TSA agents in Denver held up Peter Mayhew, the Star Wars actor who played Chewbacca, for traveling with a large, ‘suspicious’-looking cane that resembles a light saber.
The 69-year-old actor stands 7’3” tall and relies on his walking cane to get around, which is designed to look like a light saber. But when ‘Chewbacca’ reached security at Denver International Airport on June 3, his famous role in Star Wars did little to smoothen the process.
Mayhew was returning to his home in Boyd, Texas, after attending the Denver Comic Con. He frequently brings his light sabre cane to public events, and has posed in numerous photos with the object over the years.
Transportation Security Administration agents stopped the man and initially refused to allow the walking cane onboard. Mayhew live-tweeted the incident, documenting his frustration with his followers while the agents were examining his light saber-like cane.
“Giant man need giant cane… small cane snap like toothpick… besides… my light saber cane is just too cool… I would miss it…” Mayhew wrote.
The Force was strong in Chewy’s case: Mayhew posted numerous photos of the incident on his Twitter account, and claims that TSA agents allowed him to take the cane onboard only after the online uproar began. One photo shows the enormous actor sitting in a wheelchair while TSA agents examine the walking stick.
rt.com/usa/tsa-chewbacca-light-saber-491/
