An Instagram influencer and fitness coach trolled online after she posted a video complaining about hotel quarantine has lashed out at the ‘keyboard warriors’ who labelled her a ‘spoilt brat’.
Jess Pinili, 26, has been holed up a room at in Perth’s five star Duxton Hotel since returning from Bali on Sunday, where she’ll remain for another 10 days under the Federal Government’s strict new rules for travellers returning from overseas.
Ms Pinili posted a now deleted Instagram video on Monday, complaining she was being treated worse than a prisoner because she wouldn’t be allowed access to fresh air for 14 days, which she says is a ‘human right’.
She woke up the next day to a barrage of abusive comments from critics who slammed Ms Pinili as a ‘princess’, ‘selfish’, a ‘spoilt brat’ and other derogatory names.
Quarantined Instagram influencer Jess Pinili (pictured) has hit back at ‘keyboard warriors’ who slammed her public plea for fresh air
‘I’ve woken up with so many nasty comments..I don’t think anyone has listened to what I have said,’ she told her 10,300 followers in a later video.
‘So please before you keep calling me a brat or calling me spoilt, or saying I need to think about the old people in hospital. Absolutely that’s why I’m here, because there are people in hospital and there are people with COVID-19 right now, as I’m speaking.
She has since opened up about the online abuse which left her in tears, describing it was one of hardest days mentally.
Ms Pinili urged everyone to kinder to each another during these difficult times.
But she lashed out at her ‘keyboard warriors’, who she claims are responsible for the nationwide shortage of toilet paper on supermarket shelves.
‘Cyber-bullying is a real thing and it’s disgusting the comments that have been made,’ she told news.com.au.
Jess (pictured) was shocked to wake up to a barrage of online backlash which left her in tears
‘People say just suck it up, but these are the people who are hoarding toilet paper.’
Ms Pinili is among thousands of Australians quarantined in luxury hotels, which are guarded by police and paid for by the government.
‘This isn’t about gratitude, this is about human rights,’ she said in the Instagram video that sparked online outrage.
‘This hotel room practises non-smoking, awesome, that’s great, however, I don’t have access to balcony or a window that opens … which means for 14 days I will not have fresh air.
‘There are people patrolling the corridor. I can’t even walk up and down the corridor. This is worse than being a prisoner, prisoners get fresh air.’
Jess Pinili has been holed in the Dunton Hotel since returning home to Perth from Bali
‘This isn’t about gratitude, this is about human rights,’ the fitness coach ranted in the now deleted Instagram video that sparked public outrage
Ms Pinili also slammed the Western Australian Premier and Prime Minister in the video.
‘I’m just wondering Mark McGowan and Scott Morrison what was the thought process behind restricting air flow in isolation?’ Ms Pinili said.
‘Because like that alone is going to give me a corona.’
Ms Pinili has since described the hotel as lovely and has no complaints about her room, despite not being allowed to use the facility’s amenities.
She has no regrets about airing her rant about the lack of fresh air.
‘It’s about people’s mental health. Even if we had 10 minutes fresh air escorted by police officers wearing a hazmat suit, I know we would be happy with that, Ms Pinili told news.com.au.
She also has no problem with the federal government’s strict new quarantine rules which aim to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus, which has already infected 5,136 Australians and claimed 24 lives.
Previously, anyone returning to Australia had to self-isolate at their homes.
However, the rules changed on Sunday as two-thirds of the country’s Covid-19 cases have come from or have been closely linked to overseas travellers.
Jess Pinili claims the keyboard warriors who slammed her are hoarding toilet paper
Ms Pinili complained on Instagram that she was being treated worse than a prisoner and that access to fresh air was a human right
Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan has since slammed quarantined hotel guests who have complained such as Ms Pinili.
‘Countless members of our community have lost their jobs or their businesses and are facing an uncertain future,’ he said.
‘Let me be clear – people are facing much more severe challenges at the moment than having to stay in a hotel.’
In Sydney, travellers were sent to the InterContinental, Swissotel and the Novotel on Darling Harbour. All hotels are upmarket with starting prices of over $200 a night for standard rooms.
Ms Pinili, who boasts 10,300 Instagram followers urged everyone to kinder to each another
In Melbourne people are being accommodated in the Crown Promenade, where guests typically pay a minimum price of $233 per night.
Many Australians forced into quarantine since Sunday have been complianing on social media ever since about everything from the quality of their free three meals a day to the size of their rooms and being locked indoors.
One man holed up at the Hilton on Sydney described his room as a ‘luxurious jail cell’.
The only human contact he has each day is when he opens his door to collect meals left outside.
Despite free perks such as three meals a day, Foxtel and internet, some quarantined Hilton guests have described their hotel rooms as ‘luxurious jail cells’
One woman in forced self isolation at InterContinental says her mental health has been affected.
The guests receive three free meals a day left in a bag in front of their room’s door.
Some hotels are offering guests $95 credit every day to spend on room service.
Some of the other free perks include Foxtel and internet, external food deliveries, a bottle of wine or three beers per room each day and a daily laundry service
One of guests’ biggest and most constant gripes is about the food, which is often pre-packaged, processed and loaded with carbs.
In Melbourne people are being accommodated in the Crown Promenade, where guests typically pay at least $233 per night
Thousands of Australians have been forced into mandatory isolation after returning from overseas. A return traveller is pictured above enjoying the five-star accommodation at Melbourne’s Crown Promenade hotel
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said those being required to isolate should stop complaining about the accommodation.
‘I understand that maybe the sheets do not get changed daily but you are coming back into… five-star hotels. They are not going that badly. There are people after the bushfires still living in tents and caravans. People are going okay,’ he said.
‘The reality is they are in a hotel room, and yes, they will be isolated for 14 days. That is for their own protection, the protection of their family members and the protection of the NSW community.’
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian added: ‘It will not be perfect and foolproof.
‘We understand some people have had a very stressful time trying to get back home and we want to consider their position, but we also need to consider the health and safety of eight million residents in NSW and also more broadly, 25 million people in Australia.’