Australia is set to deport the far-right British commentator Katie Hopkins after she bragged about wanting to break the country’s strict quarantine rules in a video on her social media account.
Hopkins – the former Apprentice contestant later condemned by the UN for saying migrants were “like cockcroaches” – flew to Australia to participate in the reality TV show Big Brother VIP and was staying under mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine in Sydney before she could begin filming.
On Friday, she posted a video on her Instagram – which has now been deleted – joking about frightening the staff who brought meals to her door by appearing “naked with no face mask”. She also called lockdowns the “greatest hoax in human history”.
According to hotel quarantine rules in Australia, people must put on a mask before meals are delivered by the staff at their door, then wait 30 seconds to collect the food to avoid transmission.
There’s a mandatory two-week quarantine for travellers in Australia and the country’s two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, are under lockdown to contain a coronavirus outbreak caused by the more contagious Delta variant.
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Home Affairs minister Karen Andrews described Hopkins’ comments as “appalling” while announcing on Monday that she will be deported from the country for boasting about her intentions to flout quarantine rules.
“It’s appalling that this individual behaved the way that she did and she will be leaving,” Ms Andrews told ABC. “We will be getting her out of the country as soon as we can arrange that.
“The fact that she was out there boasting about breaching quarantine was just appalling,” Ms Andrews added. “It was a slap in the face for all those Australians who are currently in lockdown and it’s just unacceptable behaviour.”
Seven Network and Endemol Shine Australia, the broadcaster and production company behind Big Brother VIP, said on Sunday that Hopkins’ contract had been cancelled.
“Seven and Endemol Shine strongly condemn her irresponsible and reckless comments in hotel quarantine,” the companies said in a joint statement.
Hopkins’ travel to Australia was already a subject of some public outrage as only a very limited number of people have been allowed to enter the country during the pandemic, with flights numbers halved to reduce the risk of a new surge in imported Covid-19 infections. Thousands of Australians remain stranded in other countries waiting to get back.
Additional reporting by agencies