Leia Se entered a supermarket in Bali with a face mask painted on her face.
Two Instagram influencers are in hot water over a video which shows one of them painting a blue surgical mask on the other's face to skirt Covid guidelines and enter a supermarket in Bali, Indonesia. Josh Paler Lin and Leia Se are now facing the possibility of deportation for the video, which they say was a prank played out only for the entertainment of their followers, reports Newsweek.
Josh and Leia, who are Taiwanese and Russian nationals respectively, faced immediate backlash when they first posted the video online earlier this month. The video -- which now seems to have been taken down from their Instagram accounts but continues to be widely shared online -- shows them trying to enter a supermarket in Bali. Leia, not wearing a face mask, was stopped by a security guard at the entrance and the two returned to their car, where Josh proceeded to paint a face mask on Leia's face.
With blue makeup and white straps, the painted face mask looked real enough to fool the security guard when the duo returned to the supermarket.
Although the video was taken down after Josh and Leia faced severe backlash for potentially putting other shoppers at risk, Niluh Djelantik, a Balinese designer and politician, re-posted the video to call the influencers out for their prank.
Ms Djelantik's critical post brought widespread attention to the video, reports The Smart Local. In her post, she called on the Directorate-General of Immigration to deport the two influencers and wrote: "Do not let these people trample on Bali's dignity."
Josh Paler Lin and Leia Se briefly made their Instagram accounts private after the backlash. On Friday, Josh posted a video where he and Leia formally apologised for the stunt alongside their attorney.
Josh and Leia are now facing the possibility of deportation. According to Coconuts Bali, Indonesian immigration confirmed that their passports have been seized.
"They are not only violating, but deliberately provoking in public, so it's only proper to sanction them more severely, not just with a fine but also deportation," said the head of Satpol PP Bali, the area's police force.
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