Australian musician Keli Holiday has been forced to cut his US tour short after being denied entry at the Canadian border, despite holding proper visa documentation. The incident has sparked discussions about increased scrutiny of foreign visitors' social media activity under new US rules.
Holiday, who performs solo and as part of electronic duo Peking Duk, said he was detained while attempting to re-enter the US from Canada for a concert in New York. In a social media post on Tuesday, he stated: 'I have spent all day detained at the Canadian border and denied entry back into the U.S. despite having the proper visa documentation in place.' He has since returned to Australia.
Following his post, his girlfriend, TV personality Abbie Chatfield, apologised for an old social media post about US President Donald Trump and Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Chatfield described the post as 'a (very bad) joke' and said she deleted it after seeing how it was interpreted. She added that her boyfriend 'hadn't even seen this video'.
The incident comes as the US has implemented new rules requiring foreign visitors to provide social media handles used in the past five years for vetting. Comedian Dom Joly previously said he was refused entry to the US, speculating it was due to his 'anti-Trumpisms'. Actor Motaz Malhees, star of the Oscar-nominated film The Voice of Hind Rajab, was also denied a visa to attend the Academy Awards in March due to his Palestinian citizenship.
