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Ellen Pompeo’s Sunflower Seed Stash Sparks TSA Bomb Squad Chaos—What Really Went Down at Security?

So, imagine this: Ellen Pompeo—yes, the queen of Grey’s Anatomy herself—gets detained by TSA, and next thing you know? The bomb squad shows up. Why? Because she had a bag of organic sunflower seeds in her carry-on. Now, if you’re thinking, “Is this some cosmic joke?” you’re not alone. Given today’s Mercury retrograde antics, maybe the universe is just messing with her—and us! Ellen’s unexpected airport drama had her texting her publicist that no one would ever believe the real reason she might miss her flight. Talk about a high-stakes snack situation! Ever wonder how the stars might complicate your travel plans? Here’s the lowdown on how one simple snack nearly grounded a star. LEARN MORE.

Ellen Pompeo Detained By TSA, Bomb Squad Called In

Ellen Pompeo has revealed that she was detained by TSA and had a bomb squad called in after she attempted to board a plane with sunflower seeds in her carry-on luggage back in March.

The Grey’s Anatomy star said that she even offered to throw the offending seeds in the trash, but officials wouldn’t let her leave until the bomb specialists had examined them.

Ellen opened up about the incident in a new interview with Travel + Leisure, where she insisted that she still loves to travel despite the recent hiccup, which saw her set off the alarms as she went through TSA.

“I had a bag of sunflower seeds, like organic sunflower seeds from Erewhon, so they were probably the most expensive sunflower seeds money can buy,” Ellen began. “They literally held me for an hour, and they brought the bomb squad in.”

“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!”

“I almost missed the flight,” Ellen added. “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.’”

Have you ever triggered TSA alarms over something totally harmless? Let me know in the comments below!

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