Hyde did not offer an explanation for his expulsion from the US, but Australians had been bracing for intensified scrutiny at the American border after President Donald Trump announced plans to overhaul entry to the US last year, which would include forcing tourists to hand over five years of their social media history to border officials.<\/p>\n
Now, a day later, Hyde\u2019s girlfriend of two years has issued an apology for a past headline-making post of hers, suggesting it may have been to blame for her partner getting the boot from the US.<\/p>\n
Chatfield courted controversy in July <\/a>last year for a video insinuating \u201cincels\u201d should harm US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n Chatfield did not directly name the President in her video, which you can watch below, but hinted he should be harmed while making a gun symbol with her fingers.<\/p>\n \u201cAmericans, when are you going to do it?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy is it not already done? Every day, there\u2019s another [gun symbol] happening, right? Awful for your country, right? Awful, right? Why don\u2019t we redirect this energy to something else, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n Social media users condemned the video, which was posted as the US experienced a disturbing rise in politically motivated violence, including assassination attacks on the President.<\/p>\n Chatfield addressed the past controversy in a 10-minute video statement<\/a> shared to her Instagram today, saying that \u201ca video that I posted a year ago has come back to haunt me, essentially.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSince posting that video a year ago, I have done so much growing,\u201d the 30-year-old said.<\/p>\n \u201cI have done so much work to really understand the impact of my words and also understand that I need to f**king think before I speak.\u201d<\/p>\n Chatfield argued that her original post had been a joke at the expense of \u201cincels\u201d and the then internet thirst over accused killer Luigi Mangione. She insisted she had not called for the assassination of the US President.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople have said that I have called for the assassination of Trump. I do not want that to happen. I want to be clear. I do NOT believe that political assassinations are positive for anybody. In fact, when Charlie Kirk was assassinated, I said that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI never called for the assassination of [Trump]. This was a punchline that was meant to be about incels and the \u2026 Bizarre reaction to Luigi Mangione.\u201d<\/p>\n Chatfield said the original post was a \u201ccomplete flop\u201d that had only received around \u201c10,000 views\u201d but then got \u201cmisinterpreted\u201d as it gained wider attention.<\/p>\n \u201cLooking back on all the things that I\u2019ve said over my career, there\u2019s so much I should have done differently and this video is one of them, but I do want you know the context and the attempt at a joke that really wasn\u2019t funny and also the fact that I did not say President Trump,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI did encourage people to do that to President Trump \u2026 that was not the intention.\u201d<\/p>\n Chatfield finished the video by saying that issues like this were one reason she\u2019s soon embarking on a national speaking tour: \u201cI want people to understand that I\u2019m genuinely concerned about these topics and I need to redirect my anger into being educational. Yes, still having a laugh, but not in a way that could harm people.\u201d<\/p>\n These strict new security measures for entry to the US, part of a tightening of the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ETSA) system, target travellers from 42 visa-exempt countries, including Australia and New Zealand.<\/p>\n It\u2019s led to Australian travellers admitting they felt \u201cscared\u201d and \u201cnervous\u201d<\/a> their personal information and social media history could see them refused entry to the US.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n