American who enthused Bali was queer-friendly being deported
By FIRDIA LISNAWATIJanuary 20, 2021 GMT
DENPASAR, Indonesia (AP) An American graphic designer is being deported from the Indonesian resort island of Bali over her viral tweets that celebrated it as a low-cost, queer-friendly place for foreigners to live.
Kristen Antoinette Gray arrived in Bali in January 2020 and wound up staying through the coronavirus pandemic. Her posts on Twitter, including comparisons between Bali and Los Angeles and links to buy her e-book, began going viral in Indonesia on Sunday.
“This island has been amazing because of our elevated lifestyle at much lower cost of living. I was paying $1,300 for my LA studio. Now I have a treehouse for $400,” one of Gray’s posts on Twitter said.
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Kristen Antoinette Gray, left, walks with her partner Saundra Michelle Alexander, right, to be tested for the coronavirus at a hospital in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia on Jan. 20, 2021. | Credit: Firdia Lisnawati/AP/Shutterstock
An American travel influencer who spent 2020 in Bali and went viral for a Twitter thread encouraging others to move to the Indonesian island is now being deported, multiple outlets report.
Kristen Gray, a 28-year-old graphic designer, and her girlfriend Saundra Alexander, 30, are, as of Wednesday morning, awaiting a flight back to the United States while in immigration detention, according to the Associated Press. Gray s viral Twitter thread caught the attention of local government, who claim she was carrying out business endeavors in Bali without the correct visa to do so.
Californian who tweeted about Bali being queer-friendly gets deported Share Updated: 11:56 AM PST Jan 20, 2021
Californian who tweeted about Bali being queer-friendly gets deported Share Updated: 11:56 AM PST Jan 20, 2021
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Show Transcript TAHOE. BACK TO YOU. TEO: THANK YOU. HERE IS A LOOK AT THE CORONAVIRUS HEADLINES. DEIRDRE: ITALY TAKING LEGAL ACTION AGAINST PFIZER IN DELAYI DELIVERY TO EUROPE. PFIZER ALSO ANNOUNCED DOSE DELAYS IN THE U.S. SAN FRANCISCO WILL RUN OUT OF VACCINES BY TOMORROW. TEO: ENCOURAGING NUMBERS IN DAILY CASES, DEATHS, AND HOSPITALIZATIONS. THEY ARE ALL ON THE DECLINE. 23,000 CASES WERE REPORTED MONDAY. THE POSITIVITY RATE IS DOWN TO 11.6%. HOSPITALIZATIONS HAVE DROPPED MORE THAN 8% OVER THE PAST TWO WE
Bali deports American expat for praising Queer-friendly culture
20 Jan, 2021 08:20 PM
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American graphic designer Kristen Antoinette Gray, center, escorted by her lawyer on Bali. Photo, Firdia Lisnawati, AP
American graphic designer Kristen Antoinette Gray, center, escorted by her lawyer on Bali. Photo, Firdia Lisnawati, AP
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By: Firdia Lisnawati
An American graphic designer is being deported from the Indonesian resort island of Bali over her viral tweets that celebrated it as a low-cost, queer-friendly place for foreigners to live.
Kristen Antoinette Gray arrived in Bali in January 2020 and wound up staying through the coronavirus pandemic. Her posts on Twitter, including comparisons between Bali and Los Angeles and links to buy her e-book, began going viral in Indonesia on Sunday.