Social media influencers kicked out of Bali
Social media influencers Leia Se (left) and Josh Paler Lin (right) seen in this screen grab posing for the camera during a prank in a Bali supermarket. (The Jakarta Post/Twitter)
A pair of social media influencers will be booted from Bali over a prank video that featured one sporting a painted-on virus mask that broke Covid-19 rules. Authorities in Bali said Friday that they would deport US-based Taiwanese YouTuber Josh Paler Lin and Russian influencer Leia Se over the stunt that went viral.
In the video, Lin expresses surprise that few people seem to notice Se walking around a Bali supermarket with the painted-on blue mask. She applied the make-up after store security initially turned away the maskless Russian. The clip sparked outrage in Bali, where virus cases and deaths have been climbing. Foreigners can be hit with a fine of one million rupiah ($70) for not wearing a mask in Bali and face deportation for the second offence. But authorities decided to boot out the pair over their prank. "We plan to deport them," said Jamaruli Manihuruk, head of Bali's legal and justice office. "It has to wait until flights to their respective countries are available -- hopefully soon."
Lin, 32, who regularly posts prank videos to his 3.4 million subscribers on YouTube, has already deleted the clip and apologised. "I made this video to entertain people because I'm a content creator and it is my job to entertain people," Lin said in an online apology. "However, I did not realise that what I did could actually bring a lot of negative comments," he added.
YouTubers to be deported from Bali following prank video
Influencers could face deportation over face paint face mask prank (YouTube)
Though this is a first violation for both Lin and Se, the notoriety from the video reportedly angered Balinese authorities so much that they decided to deport the two influencers.
"We will deport the foreigner in accordance with the Immigration Law Number 6 Year 2011 concerning Immigration," Jamaruli Manihuruk, head of the regional office of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights Bali, said in a televised press conference.
Coconuts, the local Bali blog that originally picked up on the mask stunt video, quoted Manihuruk saying the exact time of their departure will depend on available flights.
Two influencers face possible deportation from Bali after a viral fake-mask prank video
In a since deleted video, an influencer entered a supermarket with a painted-on face mask
Two influencers face possible deportation from Bali, Indonesia, after a viral mask-stunt video in which one of them entered a supermarket with face paint resembling a face mask, violating local masking laws in the process, CNN reported.
The influencers are Josh Paler Lin, a YouTuber with over 3 million subscribers, and Leia Se — also known as Lisha — who has over 25,000 followers on Instagram. In the video, Se attempted to enter a grocery store without a mask and was turned away, CNN reported. When she returned with a fake mask painted onto her face, she was allowed entry.
Per screenshots circulated by the fashion designer and politician Niluh Djelantik on Instagram, the video appeared to have been originally posted to Lin's Facebook page to a playlist titled "Facebook Exclusive Pranks!!" CNN reported that it was originally posted on April 22 before it went viral. It appears to have since been deleted, but has been uploaded to other locations.
Influencers face deportation from Bali after attempting to enter store with painted face mask as prank
Two influencers are facing deportation from Bali after they posted a video online showing one of them breaking local mask laws as part of a prank. The video had been posted on April 22 by Josh Paler Lin, a Youtuber with more than three million subscribers and shows Instagrammer Leia Se, who has 25,000 followers, attempting to enter a local supermarket without a mask.
After being denied entry, she painted a face mask on her face and was then able to enter the supermarket. “Did you notice like no one’s actually looking at you?” Lin exclaimed. “I can’t believe it worked!” he said. The transgression marked Lin and Se’s first offence in Indonesia, which according to the nation’s mask mandate, is disciplined with a fine.
However, the video drew so much attention that police seized their passports and are considering deportation. “It’s only proper to sanction them more severely, not just with a fine but also deportation,” Bali’s civil service police unit head Dewa Nyoman Rai Dharmadi said on ABC News. “They are not only violating, but deliberately provoking in public to defy health guidelines.”
2 influencers face deportation from Bali over painted-on face mask prank
In a video posted on social media, US-based Taiwanese Josh Paler Lin painted a “mask” on Russian Leia Se’s face so that they would be allowed into a supermarket in Bali, Indonesia
Two foreigners are facing possible deportation from Bali after they posted a video of one of them flouting the Indonesian island’s Covid-19 mask mandate by entering a store with a painted-on face mask. The pair of social media influencers, United States-based Taiwanese Josh Paler Lin and Russian Leia Se, have since had their passports confiscated by the Indonesian government, local reports said.
In the video posted on Facebook by Lin on April 16, Se tried to enter a supermarket without wearing a face mask, but was turned away. Lin then painted a mask on her face using makeup and she was then allowed into the mart.
Under Bali’s mask mandate, foreigners may be fined a maximum of 1 million Indonesian rupiah (S$90) on the first violation, while a second offence may lead to deportation. Last Thursday (April 22), the Indonesian government said that the immigration office in Bali had confiscated their passports, Coconuts Bali website reported.
Leia Se & Josh Paler Lin seen in this screen grab posing for the camera during a prank in a Bali supermarket. They claimed that they had no intention to disrespect or encourage people not to wear masks, and that the prank video was made “to entertain people.”
