Rebel Wilson doubles down amid backlash over Dubai holiday

The Aussie actress has sent a defiant message after sparking outrage among her millions of followers over a recent Instagram post.

Rebel Wilson has shrugged off heavy criticism of her recent trip to Dubai by sharing even more pictures of her luxurious getaway.

The Australian actress sparked backlash among her followers over the weekend after posting a gushing album of her appearance at the launch of the new Atlantis The Royal resort, where Beyonce was reportedly paid around $34 million to perform a private set.

On Tuesday, Wilson shared two more pictures from her lavish trip, featuring herself in glamorous attire and posing on a balcony alongside her partner, Ramona Agruma.

She captioned it simply with two love hearts, and tagged the lavish hotel.

The defiant post comes after Wilson outraged fans over her promotion of the high-profile event in Dubai.

The actress and her fashion designer fiance were among the select few celebrities invited to the opening of the hotel, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Kendall Jenner, Liam Payne, Ellen Pompeo and Aussie stars including Sonia Kruger, Jules Sebastian and Natalie Bassingthwaite.

“Atlantis The Royal is BEYond! What a weekend with BEY!” Wilson gushed alongside a clip of highlights from her weekend.

Agruma and Wilson at the Grand Reveal Weekend for Atlantis The Royals. Picture: Samir Hussein/Getty Images

However, many followers were quick to point out the hypocrisy that she was promoting Dubai and the United Arab Emirates, where homosexuality remains a crime punishable by death.

“Aren’t you a member of LGBTQ+ community? The hypocrisy of it all,” wrote one.

“Human rights? LGBT? Unfollowing now,” said another.

“Uhm, they kill our kind over there. Why are you promoting this?” another outraged fan wrote.

Others were even more scathing.

“A nice free trip, to a place that you can’t be gay in. I had friends who were homosexual in Dubai, they had to get a two-bedroom apartment just in case the authorities knocked on their door,” one person wrote.

“Oh, the privilege. What about other LGBT people?” wrote another follower.

A similar backlash erupted in November for those involved in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where homosexuality is also still illegal and punishable by imprisonment.

Last year, Wilson came out as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month and revealed she was in a relationship with Agruma.

“I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince … but maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess #loveislove,” the Pitch Perfect star wrote on Instagram along with a photo of herself and Agruma.

The couple’s public “outing” came amid controversial circumstances, with Wilson revealing she was in her first same-sex relationship after the Sydney Morning Herald privately contacted her asking her to contribute to a story they planned to write about her new romance.

Note: A previous version of this article named Jules Robinson as attending the event, rather than Jules Sebastian. News.com.au apologises for the error.

Originally published as Rebel Wilson doubles down amid backlash over Dubai holiday