Sometimes, the tricks we play have a way of backfiring.
A pair of influencers in Bali are learning this particular lesson—the hard way.
Irate netizens are calling for the foreign couple’s deportation after they posted a video showing the woman entering a supermarket with a mask painted on her face instead of wearing an actual face mask, reported The Smart Local.
The couple pulled the stunt after the woman — a Russian influencer (@lisha0902 on IG) — was denied entry by a supermarket security guard because she was not wearing a mask.
She and her boyfriend, identified in the piece as “Taiwanese-American prankster Josh Paler Lin,” went back to their car, where Mr Lin painted a mask on Ms Lisha’s face.
They were then able to enter the supermarket as nobody, not even the security officer, realised that the woman was not wearing a mask.
They recorded themselves inside the supermarket, boasting that they had duped everyone.
The video went viral.
But, understandably, the locals were not happy with the prank the couple pulled.
And while the video they uploaded has been taken down, a Balinese designer and politician, Ms Niluh Djelantik, re-posted the video.
Ms Djelantik said on Apr 21, “Now this is not something that can be considered as a joke… this person has a big influence, many followers, where he also lives in Bali.
“So the crisis that we experienced was just acting?”
A friend had told Ms Djelantik about the video, which had been uploaded by Mr Lin on Apr 16.
The friend, she added, made a copy of the video since he thought it would be deleted later on.
The designer/politician uploaded the video to her own Instagram account @niluhdjelantik, writing “Do not let these people trample on Bali’s dignity.”
She pointed out that people are suffering due to the pandemic, and called on the Directorate-General of Immigration to deport the pair.
Other netizens were similarly upset, and said so in their comments to Ms Djelantik’s post.
Mr Lin and Ms Lisha have since set their Instagram accounts to private, although videos of their other pranks can still be seen on Mr Lin’s Facebook page.
According to The Smart Local, the Bali Immigration Office has yet to comment on the matter.
/TISG
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