Taylor Swift kicks journo off Hamilton Island
Michelle Tapper during a live cross.
Sunrise’s Queensland Correspondent Michelle Tapper has told viewers she was “kicked off” Hamilton Island after Taylor Swift requested a media ban.
The Channel 7 Sunrise news crew were trying to report on Taylor Swift’s stay on the island, including a secret birthday party, when they were approached by security and escorted off the island on Tuesday.
There were other news crews and photographers on the island, but it appears Tapper and her crew were the only ones asked to leave. Tapper was clearly irritated by the move.
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“I’ve never encountered anything like this before in 20 years of journalism. This is a pretty outrageous media ban made for just one person,” Tapper said during a live cross for Sunrise on Wednesday morning.
Michelle Tapper during the live cross.
The TV crew returned to the island to do the cross but filmed from a boat stopped just off the shoreline.
Security approached the boat and asked them to leave again, but the Sunrise crew decided to shake it off.
“While it is legal for them to kick us off the island while she is there, it’s actually legal for us to lurk just off the coast here.
“So, we are just going to sit back and enjoy the morning,” Tapper said.
“Taylor, if you are watching, it’s my birthday weekend as well. So you should invite me,” the reporter added.
“The two of us girls having a glass of champagne.”
It’s believed a group of Swift’s famous friends, including Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid and boyfriend Calvin Harris, will fly to the island for the early birthday celebration at the luxury Qualia resort.
Swift will also perform an exclusive show for winners of a Nova radio station competition, before resuming her 1989 World Tour.