Bali deports Russia influencer behind painted face mask prank
A Russian social media influencer who outraged Bali with a face mask “prank” was due to be sent packing from the island overnight, as the governor warned other tourists bad behaviour will not be tolerated.
Leia Se and fellow social influencer Josh Paler Lin, from Taiwan, sparked outrage when they filmed a video in a supermarket featuring Se wearing a painted-on face mask, rather than a real mask, which is mandatory in public in Bali.
Se was deported after immigration officials found her guilty of violating Bali’s strict health code, however Lin was found not guilty and allowed to remain in Bali.
Coconuts Bali reported on Wednesday Se was due to fly to Jakarta overnight, where she would board a flight to Moscow.
In the pair’s controversial video, which was pulled from social media, Lin and Se are seen attempting to enter a supermarket, but the security guard denies Se entry as she is not wearing a mask.
The pair then return to their car, and Lin uses makeup to paint what looks like a blue surgical mask onto Se’s face.
With the false “mask” on, the pair re-enter the supermarket and walk past the security guard.
The video was originally shared with Lin’s 324,000 followers on Instagram. He also has 3.4 million subscribers to his YouTube channel.
In Bali, foreign nationals who are caught defying mask regulations face a fine of one million Indonesian rupiah, or $88.87. After a second violation, the foreign national may be deported.
Bali Governor Wayan Koster said Se’s deportation showed how bad behaviour by foreigners would not be tolerated.
“This deportation is carried out to teach a lesson to all foreigners visiting Indonesian territory — they must comply with laws in the country,” he said, according to Coconuts Bali.
“With this, I want to underline that we will never tolerate anyone, including foreign nationals, who violate health protocols.”
Before Se was deported, the pair apologised for their stunt in a video posted to Instagram.
“We want to apologise for the video that we made,” Se said, accompanied by a lawyer.
Lin says that the video was never intended to “disrespect” or “invite” people to disregard mask guidelines.
“I made this video to entertain people because I’m a content creator, and it is my job to entertain people,” he says in the clip.
“However, I did not realise that what I did could actually bring a lot of negative comments … and … raise a lot of concerns.”
— With Simone Mitchell, Escape
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