Just when you thought influencers couldn’t shock you anymore, alas, we have a story. In today’s influencer news, an Instagram influencer has been fined $1000 for allegedly fleeing her Sydney hotel during the mandatory quarantine period.
Speaking of influencers, we spoke about TikTok on this episode of It’s Been A Big Day For…
Meet: Sarah Josephine Liberty, the social media personality followed by over 11,400 followers on Instagram and the host of the podcast Feminist Friday. This 39-year-old influencer arrived in Australia late last week from Paris and was subsequently “brought to tears” at the idea of spending two weeks in quarantine.
Subsequently, the podcast host sparked a police search after she allegedly got into a bit of a “struggle” with hotel security. The self-proclaimed “social entrepreneur” was eventually hit with a $1000 Penalty Infringement Notice fine for allegedly being in contravention of the state’s Public Health (COVID-19 Air Transportation Quarantine) Order.
According to a statement made by police, they found Sarah Josephine Liberty about 45 minutes after they began the search, down at Circular Quay. “Following a short struggle, she ran through the exit and was chased on foot before disappearing from sight,” police said in a statement, made available via news.com.au. “The guard returned to the hotel and reported the incident to his supervisor, who alerted (the) police inside the hotel.”
After being found, Sarah Josephine Liberty was taken to the hospital for an assessment before being transported back to the hotel. While this isn’t the first time someone has sneaked out of their hotel during quarantine, this is the first time a breach has come out of NSW.
According to a lengthy Instagram post, the influencer discussed how she felt “a wave of anxiety” after realising she’d be “locked in a hotel room for the next 2 weeks.” She said: “I’ll confess, it brought me to tears. I am strong, but after facing months of confinement in Paris, I just want to run to the ocean, eat Sydney Thai (nothing beats it), and a huge plate of oysters. Instead, I’m in a hotel room with instant coffee, weatbix and not much else.” You can read the full post here.
Since the end of March, there have been 33,956 people in mandatory hotel quarantine across NSW.
Always be in the loop with our snackable podcast breaking the biggest story of the day. Subscribe to It’s Been A Big Day For… on your favourite podcast app.