NEED TO KNOW
Tracee Ellis Ross had an awkward experience during a recent TSA screening
The Solo Traveling star joined guest host Nicole Byer on Jimmy Kimmel Live and revealed agents found her “private bedside table things”
The self-described “rule follower” said she put the items in her carry-on because they contain a rechargeable battery
Tracee Ellis Ross had an uncomfortable moment during a recent TSA screening.
On the Aug. 15 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, Ross joined guest host Nicole Byer to promote her new show Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross. During the interview, Byer asked the star about the weirdest thing she has ever packed.
“Oh, goodness me,” the actress, 52, said as she readjusted in her chair.
The black-ish star explained that while on a trip for her new show, her bag was pulled aside by the TSA for extra screening. The agents then opened her carry-on and “went through every single little bag” inside.
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“One of my bags has bedside table things in it,” she said. “Private bedside table things.”
Then, Ross recreated the face the agent who found it gave her: a knowing half-grin with a finger point.
“I was so embarrassed, I was so embarrassed,” she repeated. “And now I have shared it with all of you.”
In her defense, Ross cited a well-known air travel rule as the reason why the items were placed in her carry-on specifically
“Because I’m such a rule follower, anything [with] a rechargeable battery goes in your carry-on,” she explained behind a laugh.
“That goes in your carry-on,” she added with a hair flip.
Byer added her own embarrassing airport security experience too.
“I went to Amsterdam and I bought a bunch of rubber duckies and I had them in my carry-on, but nobody was like ‘You go girl,’” she said. “They openly laughed at me. It was so mean.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Ross spoke about the inspiration behind her Roku Channel show.
TRACEE ELLIS ROSS/INSTAGRAM
Tracee Ellis Ross on ‘Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross’
“I have been solo traveling since I was like 24, 25, I take at least one maybe two solo travel trips a year, and I’m 52, it’s been a long run,” she explained.
She added: “I went on a trip, my regular summer trip, and a guy that was helping me at the airport was like ‘Oh my god, we wait every year for your first dips, we wait for your outfits in Paris, it’s like an event on Instagram.’”
Ross, who was shocked to learn there was a big following behind her solo travels, contacted her manager to see if they could “turn up the volume” on it. From there, the show was born.
Mike Coppola/Getty
Tracee Ellis Ross attend the ‘Travel + Leisure’ World’s Best Summit 2025 in New York City on July 15.
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In the series, which premiered on July 25, Ross traveled to Morocco, Spain and Mexico.
The self-described “over packer” told Byer she typically checks anywhere from three to eight bags in addition to her carry-on. She lives on a strict “BIA” policy — “Bring it all.”
“When I go on vacation, it’s my opportunity to like wear all my beautiful things and then I also, of course, might have to plan for disaster, which happened in Spain,” she teased.
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