Hong Kong has strict quarantines in place for everyone, but Nicole Kidman managed to evade them. On Thursday, Hong Kong confirmed that the Oscar winner was granted a special exemption, and Kidman managed to slip in and out to film a series, Expats, for Amazon.
In a statement, the Hong Kong government said "the case in discussion has been granted permission to travel to Hong Kong with a quarantine exemption for the purpose of performing designated professional work." It added that the move was "conducive to maintaining the necessary operation and development of Hong Kong's economy."
Kidman took a private jet from Sydney to Hong Kong on August 12th and was seen out and about shopping. On social media, the backlash was intense. “Dear #HongKong friends and family, While you are locked into a hotel room for three weeks, how does it feel to know that if you are from Hollywood, you are exempt from the barbaric quarantine rules HK residents are subjected to?” wrote user @debkhk on Twitter.
“Olympic medalists are required to quarantine in HK but Nicole Kidman doesn’t because she is a Hollywood star and needs to film 'EXPATS'”, tweeted @wongmjane.