Star Wars fans know Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca—Chewie, if you're a diehard fan—but that didn't sway the TSA last week when they stopped him at Denver International Airport to inspect his lightsaber-shaped cane.
The 7-foot-tall actor took to Twitter immediately after the TSA stopped him, tweeting a picture of the agents with his cane:
@americanair won't allow me through the airport with me cane! Can I get a retweet? twitter.com/TheWookieeRoar…
The tweet, according to Buzzfeed, "prompted outrage" from Mayhew's over 25,000 followers—and not much later, Mayhew was given his cane back and allowed through security. He tweeted the follow-up photo, and insinuated it was Twitter that allowed him to get his cane back.
Magic words to TSA are not "please" or "thank you".. It's "Twitter".. cane released to go home.. twitter.com/TheWookieeRoar…
According to the Associated Press, however, TSA officials maintain that Twitter did not play a part in the actions of their agents: "Because of the unusual weight of the passenger’s cane, a security officer alerted a supervisor. Less than five minutes later the passenger and cane were cleared to travel. Social media played no role in the determination."
Mayhew tweeted one last follow-up after passing through security:
Giant man need giant cane.. small cane snap like toothpick.... besides.. my light saber cane is just cool.. I would miss it..
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[via Buzzfeed]
