The Bachelorette 2017: Autograph hunter’s tactic highlights airport security risk
CELEBRITY autograph hunter Jayden Seyfarth might have gone too far trying to get close to Bachelorette lovebirds Sophie Monk and Stu Laundy.
Confidential
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CELEBRITY autograph hunter Jayden Seyfarth is willing to go to extreme lengths for the monikers of the rich and famous, but this time he may have gone a star too far.
Trying to get up close and personal with Bachelorette lovebirds Sophie Monk and Stu Laundy has landed him at the centre of a police investigation and exposed a serious security flaw at Sydney airport domestic terminal.
Mr Seyfarth, a 20-year-old would-be paparazzo, duped the self-serve Virgin Australia check-in kiosk, printing out the reality TV contestants’ business-class boarding passes to Melbourne on Friday.
He then used the passes to enter the Virgin VIP lounge, where he lay in wait for the couple, yelling questions at them when they arrived.
Now the Australian Federal Police have launched an investigation that may result in Mr Seyfarth being charged with trying to travel under a false name, which carries a maximum year in jail.
Monk and Laundy were flying to Melbourne to appear on Channel 10’s The Project after The Bachelorette finale the night before.
Virgin’s self-serve check-in kiosks require only a surname and a destination city to print a boarding pass.
The incident came to light after Mr Seyfarth posted photos of the boarding passes on Instagram with the caption: “Let’s do this”. Another photo showed the VIP area drinks tray with the caption: “Sophie Monk for the day.”
Mr Seyfarth was unrepentant yesterday, claiming that using self-serve airport terminals was a common practice for gathering information about travelling celebrities.
“That is how we get flights, you go up to the machine and put in their name. Everyone does it,” Mr Seyfarth said.
“If they are flying business, we go into the lounge with it and get some food.
“You scan the ticket before you go into the lounge so they don’t check your ID.”
Mr Seyfarth said he was unconcerned by police or Virgin investigating. “I’m not worried at all,” he said. “This is the first I’ve heard of that.”
Just a week earlier, Australian cricketer David Warner complained on Instagram that Mr Seyfarth followed him and his wife Candice to the supermarket, and was also seen waiting outside his daughter’s dancing class.
Last week Warner posted a picture of Mr Seyfarth taken at the supermarket, asking if any of his followers knew who he was. He wrote: “He’s decided to follow (Candy) and I to the supermarket, then also decided to wait at the front of my daughter’s dancing class even before we got there.
“I’m a bit concerned by this. Stalker or wannabe pap? We respect the paps as they respect us — now this bloke did none of this today.”
He was outed by Warner’s Instagram followers, one who claimed: “I just saw this guy at the airport tracking Matty J.”
When Warner posted that he now had Mr Seyfarth’s name and number, he replied: “I’ve got yours too, I’m sure the British lads would love to get a hold of it. Lost my respect ya tosser.”
Mr Seyfath is no stranger to controversy. In 2015 he was called “inhumane” by US pop singer Pia Mia after telling her “I hope your plane crashes” because she refused to have a photo with him.
He was also the target of a 10,000-signature change.org petition titled “Punish Jayden Seyfarth for privacy harassment” after he photographed members of the band 5 Seconds Of Summer while on a private family visit in Sydney during a rare tour break. In a video directed at Mr Seyfarth, 5SOS drummer Ashton Irwin told him: “This is my family, I get four days a year at home.
“Don’t come near my family, OK? Do you understand? Stay away from me and my family.” Mr Seyfarth replied: “It’s my job Ashton, It’s my job and you gotta respect that.”
An AFP spokesman confirmed police were aware of the incident. “The AFP can confirm it received a referral regarding the alleged unauthorised access of travel documents by an individual. This matter is currently under investigation,” he said.
Virgin’s self-serve check-in kiosks require only a surname and a destination city to print a boarding pass. A Virgin spokesman said its kiosks complied with security standards set by the Office of Transport Security.
Channel Ten said: “It’s disappointing that a photographer would go this far. Sophie and Stu were not affected.”
The federal government is moving to bring domestic airport security in line with international terminals.
In August it emerged the government was moving towards a security clampdown, which may include fully body scans and identification checks when receiving a boarding pass.
John Coyne, the head of border security at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said security breaches of this sort are a sign of the times and that a multi-stage identification process was a possible solution.
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