TSA calls in bomb squad over Ellen Pompeo's sunflower seeds

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Ellen Pompeo is warning travellers to be careful when flying with sunflower seeds.

In an interview with Travel + Leisure, the Grey’s Anatomy star recounted a recent flight in which officers with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) detained her after they found she was carrying “probably the most expensive sunflower seeds money can buy.”

“I had a bag of sunflower seeds, like organic sunflower seeds from Erewhon,” Pompeo told the outlet. “They literally held me for an hour, and they brought the bomb squad in.”

Pompeo, 55, was speaking to the magazine about her travel must-haves when she’s flying.

“Mints, glasses, water, hand sanitizer, and baby wipes. I have to do the Naomi Campbell thing and wipe down the entire seat,” she said.

But her in-flight snack landed her in a room with the bomb squad back in March, which she said surprised her.

“I was like, what is happening? Is this a joke?” she recalled. “They said it was most likely a chemical on the packaging of these super expensive, fancy, organic, clean sunflower seeds. My protein on the plane!”

Pompeo asked if she could just throw the seeds out and be on her way, but TSA agents said they needed her to hang around and wait for the bomb squad to determine if the unopened bag posed a threat.

“I almost missed the flight. It was really like no one would ever believe this! I was texting my publicist saying, ‘I might not get on this plane, and you’re never gonna guess why,’” the mother of three said.

Elsewhere in her conversation with Travel + Leisure, Pompeo revealed that she tries to lay low when she’s flying.

“I don’t speak. People recognize my voice, so I try not to talk. I try to use sign language with my kids. The minute I open my mouth, everybody turns,” she said.

Pompeo isn’t the only A-lister who has ran afoul of overzealous TSA agents. Back in 2017, Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco revealed she was stopped by border control authorities for carrying two corkscrews.

“So, the lady goes, ‘Whose bag is this?’ And of course, it’s my purse,’ and I’m like, ‘That’s my bag’ – thinking I’m going to get a compliment on my purse. She goes, ‘We’re going to need to look through your bag, and I’m like, ‘It’s Gucci.’ So, she starts searching through and she pulls out a wine opener out of my purse, a real one with arms, like the rabbit. And I was like, ‘Oh my God – that’s a weapon!’” she recounted during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

“Here’s the thing – I just like alcohol. I’m always quite prepared, I love my wine,” Cuoco said. “(I’m a) huge drinker. Love to drink on a plane. It’s the best time. I don’t have to fly, I just sit there…I get on there have a couple sips. I tap out, everyone is so (much) less annoying.”

mdaniell@postmedia.com