Nicole Kidman Faces Backlash After Hong Kong Grants Her Exemption from Coronavirus Quarantine Rules to Film

Residents and visitors in Hong Kong are furious that there appears to be special rules for Hollywood elites and coronavirus restriction rules for everyone else after actress Nicole Kidman was exempted from the coronavirus quarantine measures to film her latest project in the country.

Hong Kong’s Chinese-controlled government said Thursday that Kidman is excused from the coronavirus rules so she could perform “designated professional work,” Breitbart News reported. Hong Kong authorities added that Kidman was excused because her work is “conducive to maintaining Hong Kong’s economy’s necessary operation and development.”

Kidman is in Hong Kong filming her latest Amazon Prime Video series, The Expats. The series is based on the book by Hong Kong-born author Janice Y.K. Lee, which follows the lives of three American women living in Hong Kong.

Unlike others, Kidman has not been required to serve a 21-day mandated quarantine in her hotel room after entering the city. Consequently, the Eyes Wide Shut star flew in from Sydney, Australia, on August 12 and has since been reportedly seen roving about Hong Kong on shopping sprees.

But a backlash to the exemption is forming among residents of the former British protectorate as citizens continue to face travel restrictions, curfews, and other measures related to virus mitigation. – READ MORE