Canadian actor faces deportation from Bali over naked Haka

A Canadian actor has made a tearful apology after filming himself performing the Haka while naked on a sacred mountain.

A Canadian actor is reportedly set to be deported from Bali, after he stripped naked and performed the Haka on a sacred mountain.

Jeffery Craigen dropped his daks while visiting the holiday island, performing the dance on Mount Batur, a picturesque mountain which is considered to be a ‘holy site’ by many Balinese.

According to NewsHub, Mr Craigen uploaded the now deleted video to social media, captioning the clip with: “When you strip naked without shame and be seen, you become a fearless child of God.”

The Canadian actor stripped down on the sacred mountain

The actor – who has been a tourist in Bali since 2019 – has been in small roles on iZombie and Supernatural.

He said on Instagram in an emotional apology that he didn’t mean to cause offence or to disrespect Māori.

“I didn’t even know the words I was saying,” said Craigen. “I was just expressing what I was feeling and I sincerely apologise for any hurt that I gave any Māori people … I apologise to the Balinese people. I apologise to the Māori people. I am very sorry.”

But the apology is too little too late, with authorities saying the actor is now on a “blacklist” which will prevent him from entering Bali for the foreseeable future.

However, the deportation has hit a small hurdle, according to the head of Denpasar immigration office Tedy Riyandi, who told AFP on Tuesday that “airlines have not agreed (to transport him)” because he is not vaccinated against Covid-19.

In 2021 alone, Balinese authorities have deported more than 200 people for an array of different reasons.

In January last year, an American woman living in Bali was deported following outrage over a series of tweets in which she detailed her idyllic new life on the holiday island.

Travel influencer Kristen Gray claims she was kicked out, along with her girlfriend, for being LGBT.

The social media outrage prompted an investigation by immigration authorities, who said while Gray had a valid visa she was suspected of breaking the law and would be sent home on the next available flight to the United States.

The American couple felt their move to Bali had been a ‘game changer’.

Gray and her girlfriend Saundra Alexander moved to Bali in 2019 with the plan to stay for six months but extended their stay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pair were living as “digital nomads” on the island, sharing insights into their idyllic life on Instagram and TikTok.

In one of her many tweets, Gray listed “major benefits” of her move to Bali, which included “safety, low cost of living, luxury lifestyle, queer friendly and Black in Bali community”.

The thread sparked fury in Bali and throughout Indonesia, with many people criticising Gray for encouraging an influx of Westerners into the country during the pandemic, and raising concerns it would lead to further gentrification of the island at the expense of locals.

Her description of Bali as “queer friendly” also hit a nerve with local members of the LGBTI community in light of growing fears of state-sanctioned homophobia in conservative Indonesia, which introduced a bill last year that would force LGBTI people into conversion therapy.