“Appalling” act sees British commentator booted from Australia
Far-right British commentator Katie Hopkins will be deported from Australia, following thousands of people signing a petition calling for her departure.
After it was revealed Hopkins was flown to Australia last week to take part in Celebrity Big Brother Australia, a wave of online hatred and calls to remove her from the programme have been aimed at Channel 7.
However, a video she uploaded to her social media profile over the weekend has intensified the calls and prompted an investigation into whether her visa was still valid.
In the now-deleted video, Hopkins admitted to deliberately undermining hotel quarantine rules.
“The police officer who checked me in told me when they knock on my door I have to wait 30 seconds ‘til I can open the door [to receive food],” she said in the Instagram Live video.
“Then I can open the door but only if I wear a face mask.
“[To] frighten the s**t out of them and do it naked with no face mask. What I want is the sergeant in the foyer to come up and tell me off so that I can stand there naked while he tells me off.”
In another video, Hopkins calls the lockdowns the “greatest hoax in human history”.
The clip attracted widespread criticism from government and opposition politicians, as well as Aussies still suck overseas who questioned how she was able to score a spot in hotel quarantine in Sydney.
The controversy also resulted in Channel 7 dropping her from the show, which they confirmed in a statement.
“Seven Network and Endemol Shine Australia confirm that Katie Hopkins is not part of Big Brother VIP. Seven and Endemol Shine strongly condemn her irresponsible and reckless comments in hotel quarantine,” the network said.
A Change.org petition calling for her departure from the country has also been started, and has received more than 31,000 signatures.
Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews ordered an urgent review of Hopkin’s visa to determine whether her stunt breached visa conditions.
Ms Andrews has since revealed Hopkins’ visa had been cancelled.
“We will be getting her out of the country as soon as we can arrange that,” she told ABC News Breakfast.
Despite being granted a visa based on potential benefit to the economy, Ms Andrews described Hopkins’ act as “despicable”.
“I’m with you, it’s appalling this individual behaved the way she did,” she said.
“All visa holders must abide by the health directions issued by our health officials - we won’t tolerate those who don’t.”
Hopkins hasn’t been the only source of controversy for the Channel 7 show, after the news broke that Caityln Jenner was also flying into the country to partake in the show.
Image: Katie Hopkins / Instagram