Kristen Gray Bali Tweet Controversy

Overview

Kristen Gray Bali Tweet Controversy refers to the series of controversial tweets made by Twitter user @kristentootie, an American citizen who lives in Bali, in which she shared her stories about how she came to live in Bali and encouraged other people to live there. The thread led to a massive backlash on Twitter, with many criticizes her for gentrifying Bali, overstaying her travel visa and encouraging tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background

On January 16th, 2021, Kristen Gray, via her Twitter @kristentootie, shared her story about living in Bali, Indonesia for over a year. The tweet received more than 96,100 likes and 11,300 retweets. The tweet was met with heavy backlash from Indonesian Twitter users, which prompted Kristen to lock her account. On the next day, Twitter user @gastricslut^[1] uploaded screenshots of Kristen's tweets. The tweet received more than 72,100 likes and 27,900 retweets (shown below, left). On January 19th, 2020, the keyword "Kristen Gray" has been trending in Indonesia with 60,800 tweets (shown below, right).

Developments

In her tweet, Kristen stated that she'd been staying in Bali for over a year and that she'd been working from here.^[1] The tweet was met with heavy backlash from Indonesian Twitter users, who accused her of overstaying and tax evasion because she used a tourist visa instead of working visa. Kristen was also criticized because she invited other American citizen to live in Bali amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Gray also stated that she was able to afford a luxurious lifestyle due to the fact that Indonesia is a developing country, in which, many criticized her that her elevated lifestyle and the fact that she's inviting other American citizen to live in Bali would gentrified the locals with their higher standards. Kristen, alongside some of American Twitter users, responded to the criticism by accusing their Indonesian critics of being racist. On January 18th, 2021, Facebook^[2] page FB Itu jauh lebih toleran & berbobot dibanding Dongengmu, T w i t t a r d uploaded a series of screenshots from Twitter users who insulted Indonesians as monkeys. The post received 747 reactions and 115 shares (shown below).

Kristen's Deportation

After Gray's thread, Indonesian citizens began calling for her deportation. For example, on January 17th, 2021, Twitter^[3] user @BetterWithBill tweeted to encourage Indonesians to report Kristen to the Indonesian Immigration officials due to overstaying her visa and visa fraud. The tweet received more than 34,900 likes and 14,100 retweets (shown below).

On the same day according to Indonesian media Detik,^[4] Indonesia Immigration officers in the Bali Region began trying to find Gray after they found she had overstayed. On January 19th, Indonesian news site Kompas^[11] published article about Kristen Gray in which she said saying she had been interrogated by Indonesian Immigration officers and is still shocked after her tweet provoked Indonesian backlash.

Even though Indonesian Immigration decided that Kristen didn't overstay in Bali,^[12] she was still deported to the United States^[13]. On January 19th, local media outlet Kanal Bali via Instagram^[14] uploaded a video about Kristen's clarification. The video received 299 likes (shown below).

Indonesian Response

Indonesians created many memes about Gray after insulting Indonesians and accusing them of being racist towards her. For example, on January 18th, 2021, Twitter^[5] user @dith_nattawat1 uploaded a photo depicting Kristen looking to find another country. The tweet received more than 5,200 likes and 697 retweets (shown below, left). On the same day, Twitter^[6] user @readzan_ uploaded photos depicting her as Squidward Tentacles. The tweet received more than 6,000 likes and 1,000 retweets (shown below, right).

On the same day, Facebook^[7] user Arini Ekawati Sukardi uploaded an image telling people to make sure they had the right Visa before staying in Indonesia. The post received 400 reactions and 716 shares (shown below).

Some Indonesians made jokes about trapping foreigners by telling them to come to various places that is heavily tied with superstition. For example, on January 18th, 2021, Twitter^[8] user @farhancaeee uploaded images of Parangtritis Beach, Jogjakarta, Indonesia, saying foreigners should go there while wearing green outfits. This refer to the myth that wearing green outfit while visiting the beach will bring bad omen onto anyone who wear it. The tweet received more than 6,600 likes and 1,800 retweets (shown below, left). On the same day, Twitter^[9] user @hydrococko uploaded photos of Alas Purwo forest and recommend it to Americans to do tax evasion, and claiming it was cheaper than living in Bali. The tweet received more than 67,300 likes and 22,500 retweets (shown below, right).

Language Miscomprehension

Many US Twitter user who were involved with the feud accused Indonesians Twitter user with racism because they mistook the word "ngga", that many Indonesian user used in their tweets, as n-word. In reality, "ngga", originally "nggak", is a common slang word in Indonesian that means "no". On January 18th, 2021, Twitter^[10] user @yodeesigner uploaded a tweet about people who mistook "ngga" as n-word. The tweet received more than 15,700 likes and 4,100 retweets (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References