The actor, who has been studying Islam, has said she was ‘freaked out’ by the request during an airport check

Lindsay Lohan, the actor best known for her roles in films such as Mean Girls, has said she was “racially profiled” at Heathrow airport recently.

Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Lohan, 30, said she was requested to remove her headscarf by security staff queuing for a flight to New York, having lately returned from Turkey.

“I was wearing a headscarf and I got stopped at the airport and racially profiled for the first time in my life,” she said. “She opened my passport and saw ‘Lindsay Lohan’ and started immediately apologising but then said, ‘Please take off your head scarf.’”

Lohan acquiesced but said that she was “scared” by what such interventions might mean for others. “How would another woman who doesn’t feel comfortable taking off her headscarf feel?” she said. “That was really interesting to me.”

Interviewer Susanna Reid asked if the incident “freaked her out”, so which Lohan replied: “It did, I’m from New York, I was born and raised there so I was a little intimidated.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Respect … Lindsay Lohan interviewed in Gaziantep, Turkey, last October visiting an area where many Syrian refugees have settled. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

She went on to enquire whether Lohan was considering converting to Islam, having discussed studying the faith. The actor replied that she was undecided but “out of respect to certain countries that I go to, I feel more comfortable acting the same as the other women. That’s just a personal respect issue for me.”

A spokeswoman for Heathrow airport said: “Heathrow respects the cultural and religious needs of all passengers travelling through the airport. We work hard to provide our passengers with great service while ensuring everyone remains safe and secure.”

A Home Office spokeswoman added: “Those who land at a UK airport to catch a connecting flight would usually have their documentation checked.”