British media personality Katie Hopkins has been dropped from Channel Seven’s upcoming season of Big Brother VIP, after making controversial comments about Australia’s hotel quarantine rules.
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Katie, who had been reportedly brought to Australia by Channel Seven to join Big Brother VIP, was dropped from the program after receiving backlash from a video she uploaded to Instagram.
In the video, she described COVID-19 lockdowns as “the greatest hoax in human history” and joked about breaching restrictions.
She also said that she planned to deliberately break the rules by opening her door completely naked and mask-free to workers who deliver her food.
Katie received intense backlash following her comments in the video, and Seven Network and Endemol Shine Australia issued a statement to announce that she had been dropped from the program.
“Seven Network and Endemol Shine Australia confirm that Katie Hopkins is not part of Big Brother VIP,” the statement read.
“Seven and Endemol Shine strongly condemn her irresponsible and reckless comments in hotel quarantine.”
Katie Hopkins will also be deported, with Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews having told ABC News Breakfast that her visa had been cancelled.
“We will be getting her out of the country as soon as we can arrange that. I am hoping that will happen imminently,” she said.
Karen also described Katie’s comments as “shameful” and “unacceptable”.
“The fact that she was out there boasting about breaching quarantine was just appalling. It was a slap in the face for all those Australians who are currently in lockdown,” she said.
Katie arrived in Australia last week on a “critical skills” visa and was widely reported to be joining the next season of the Channel Seven reality series.
She later denied that she broke quarantine rules, uploading another video to Instagram.
“WARNING: EXTREME HUMOUR. I have never broken quarantine,” Katie wrote in the caption.
“My whole heart goes out to Australians and this brilliant country known for sense of humour. Families MUST be reunited, Auzzies need the dignity of work and lockdown is the Greatest Hoax in Human History,” she said.