A shocking claim of racism has come out of the White House Correspondents Dinner. Seema Jilani, who is Muslim, has written about the experience in the Huffington Post.
Jilani, who attended as the wife of a journalist who was a guest, claims that the White House security staff applied double standards to her when she was trying to get keys from her husband. As she tried to enter the area where her husband was, without possession of a ticket, Jilani claims several white women without tickets were allowed to pass through as she watched in tears.
Spouses "who are not participating in the hideous schmooze-fest that is this evening are relegated to attending the cocktail hour only, if that," Jilani wrote.
The incident occurred after the cocktail hour was over, when Jilani was at the ticket taking area because she realized that she'd forgotten her keys.
"[White House security] abruptly responded, 'You can't go down without a ticket.'" Jilani wrote. "I explained my situation and that I just wanted my keys from my husband in the foyer and that I wouldn't need to enter in the ballroom.
"They refused to let me through," she continued. "I watched as they let countless other women through - all Caucasian - without even asking to see their tickets."
Upset by this, Jilani confronted the security, asking them why the other women were allowed to go through.
"'Well, now we are checking tickets,'" the security guard answered. She said he then rolled his eyes at her and checked the next woman's ticket. "His smug tone, enveloped in condescension, taunted, 'See? That's what a ticket looks like.'"
Jilani has a more disturbing claim about the response she received after asking a security staffer about the double standard.
"We have to be extra careful with you all after the Boston bombings," he said.
Jilani then claims that the security guards accused her of crashing the event last year. Her claims have not yet been corroborated.
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