Nicole Kidman Bypasses Quarantine Mandate To Shoot Amazon Series In Hong Kong

Nicole Kidman has not endeared herself with Hong Kong residents after reports surfaced that she bypassed the local COVID-19 quarantine mandates to shoot the Amazon.com AMZN series “Expats” in the city.

What Happened: Hong Kong requires a seven-day hotel quarantine for vaccinated visitors arriving from Australia, according to Hollywood Reporter coverage citing Hong Kong media reports. But Kidman arrived in the city by a private jet from Sydney on Aug. 12 with private bodyguards and was not required to follow the quarantine policy.

Local news reports found Kidman on a shopping spree in Hong Kong after her “Expats” work was done. The Oscar-winning actress’ free access to the city stood in stark contrast to the recent experience of Mark Tucker, chairman of HSBC Holdings Plc HSBC, who was required to go through a three-week hotel quarantine after arriving in Hong Kong from the U.K.

Local Hong Kong media stated she's paying about $83,000 a month to rent at a mansion in an exclusive upscale neighborhood near Victoria Peak. She is expected to be in Hong Kong through October.

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How It Happened: Kidman’s quarantine exemption was granted by Hong Kong’s Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, which cited her local presence as qualifying for the “designated professional work” exception to the mandate. And while this generated a great deal of discussion within Hong Kong’s tabloids and social media forums, Kidman didn't offer any comment on the brouhaha surrounding her visit.

Kidman is serving as executive producer on “Expats,” an adaptation of Janice Y.K. Lee’s 2016 novel “The Expatriates.” Kidman is not listed as part of the series cast, which includes Sarayu Blue and Jack Huston.

Photo: Eva Rinaldi / Flickr Creative Commons.