Content creator Bonnie Blue faced significant consequences after being detained in Bali on accusations of producing pornography during her travels around the Indonesian island with her ‘Bang Bus’.
The 26-year-old, legally known as Tia Billinger, returned to the UK recently after her deportation from Indonesia, following a court hearing.
Blue visited the popular destination to coincide with Australia’s ‘Schoolies’, a tradition where graduates flock to renowned vacation spots to celebrate the completion of their exams.
During a police raid on a production studio in Bali, Blue and 33 others were apprehended. While most of the men were released, Blue and three of her team remained in custody pending an immigration hearing.
There was a possibility she could face over ten years in prison for allegedly breaching Bali’s strict morality laws.
The court found her guilty of ‘violating traffic regulations by using an open-back truck for goods but carrying people on the open-back truck’, resulting in a fine of 200,000 Indonesian rupiah ($12). She was also expelled from the country for an immigration violation, as she was working on a tourist visa.
Additionally, Blue has been prohibited from entering Indonesia for the next ten years.
Officials chose not to pursue charges related to the production of pornographic content as only ‘private video footage’ was discovered on Blue’s phone.
Yuldi Yusman, the director general of immigration, stated that the footage was ‘not for public distribution’ and explained that Blue ‘entered Indonesia using a visa on arrival for commercial content production that could potentially cause public unrest’.
Yusman further commented: “Therefore, we imposed a 10-year entry ban because these activities aren’t in line with the government’s efforts to maintain Bali’s quality tourism image and respect for local cultural values.”
After returning to the UK, Blue addressed the situation in a video on Instagram from the day of her court appearance.
“Get ready with me for trial,” she expressed in the video. “I really wanted to wear my ‘Schoolies T-shirt’, family have strongly said don’t, still gonna take it, see what my lawyer says.”
As she prepared for court, Blue remarked: “I don’t really know what to expect today, I just know we’re gonna meet a judge and it’s a court. Police will be there, immigration will be there, press will be there.”
She criticized the police and immigration for their complaints about the media, alleging that they keep ‘inviting’ and ‘leaking stuff’ to reporters and journalists covering her case.
Blue also claimed that the organizer of her trip allegedly took a significant portion of her ‘£75,000 fee’ and then reported her to the police.