Australian musician refused entry into US, girlfriend subsequently apologises for historic social media post
An Australian music artist has been refused entry into the US. Subsequently, his girlfriend has apologised on social media for a historic post.
Keli Holiday, who performs both as a solo artist and as one half of the band Peking Duk, claimed he had been “detained” while travelling back across the border from Canada into New York for his show on May 11th.
He later posted to social media on the same day (per The Independent): “Unfortunately I’m not going to make it to tonight’s show at Baby’s All Right in NYC.”
Holiday said: “I have spent all day detained at the Canadian border and denied entry back into the US despite having the proper visa documentation in place,” before adding, “I’m still trying to get clarity on the situation myself.”
The singer had previously entered the US to perform in Los Angeles, before travelling to Toronto, Canada, for a show on May 6th. He was subsequently attempting to re-enter the country for his show in New York five days later when he was stopped at the border.
A representative for Holiday then confirmed to Billboard that he has since returned to his home in Australia, thus cutting the rest of his planned stint in the US short.
Although no reason for the incident was immediately offered, Holiday’s girlfriend, Abbie Chatfield, took to social media in the aftermath to apologise for a post she made in 2025 in which she jokingly compared the romantic gestures Mangione was receiving to the type of attention that incels crave.
Magione is the man accused of fatally shooting United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York in December 2024, for which he will stand trial on 11 charges this October.
As part of an extensive Instagram video and accompanying caption, Chatfield wrote: “I’m truly sorry for anyone this hurt, and want to make it clear this was not a serious call to action, but is poorly aimed joke at the violence of incels and commentary about the interesting reaction to Luigi Mangione in where a man accused of unaliving someone was suddenly a heart throb.”
She also said in the video, “I also want to make it clear Adam hadn’t even seen this video, so any vitriol toward him is unwarranted.”
In December 2025, the US introduced a new rule for tourists, allowing them to ask for five years’ worth of social media history for people who are eligible to visit with an Electronic System for Travel Authorization form rather than a visa, which includes those from the UK and Australia.
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