Also known as SRK, Bollywood icon Shahrukh Khan has found himself “detained” at New Jersey’s Liberty International Airport over the weekend for a “secondary inspection,” which has prompted the Indian media to cry out racism and to point the finger at the high levels the paranoia has reached in the US. SRK was unlawfully detained because of his religion and his name, Times of India says, asking for American celebrities to be treated the same way. It was all just a big misunderstanding, US authorities tell Fox News.

Khan might not be a well-known name in the US film industry, but back home, he is considered the “George Clooney / Brad Pitt of Bollywood.” With an impressive track record of over 70 movies and an incredibly large fanbase, Khan is an icon, so it’s no wonder millions of people back home got fuming mad when they heard about his unjustified “detention” on American soil. Moreover, Times of India says, perhaps having authorities there doing the same to US stars wouldn’t probably be that absurd either, if one were to consider that this is not the first time an Indian celebrity is being detained without reason.

And this is precisely what happened, the publication points out. “It is not clear why Khan, who is a frequent visitor to the US, and only recently spent a month here shooting for ‘My Name is Khan,’ was subjected to a ‘secondary inspection,’ which in itself does not constitute detention. But the actor surmises that it was because of his last name; in other words, his Muslim identity. He was questioned for nearly two hours, asked what he thought were irrelevant questions, denied the use of his cell phone (which isn’t unusual; visitors cannot use mobile phones before clearing immigration) and was finally allowed to make just one phone call under the rules.” Times of India writes.

Khan, it seems, also believes this was something stemming from racial prejudices, since he offered officers constant reassurances that he was a movie star who had all documentation in order. Moreover, he was deeply hurt by what happened to him, especially since he saw no reason to be held like that, even if, officially, he was not detained, the local newspaper quotes him as saying.

However, US customs officers are adamant nothing out of the ordinary took place, as Fox News reports. Khan was asked to step aside for a secondary investigation in order to have someone look at his papers and do the obligatory screening, which did happen. The actor was held back by no more than 66 minutes, and authorities are not even accountable for most of it, since some of Khan’s luggage got lost and he had to wait for it to be retrieved, an official statement from the US authorities reads.