An Aussie influencer in Dubai was dubbed ‘entitled’ and ‘selfish’ after she shared a video in the midst of Iranian attacks on the popular holiday state
An influencer has been blasted as “selfish” after she shared a video about being scared in Dubai while Iranian retaliatory strikes hit the popular expat state.
Instagrammer Louise Starkey, from Australia but living in Dubai, shared a video where she appeared to suggest fighting should have been kept to less fortunate places. The influencer shared a clip from a hotel balcony after the Iranian regime fired retaliatory strikes on several Middle Eastern nations after the US and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday.
Dubai was one of the popular tourist locations hit on Saturday, along with places like Abu Dhabi and Qatar.
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READ MORE: All the destinations affected after air strikes in Iran – not just DubaiREAD MORE: Dubai airport strike: Brit mum sunbathing when missiles started flying stranded with kids
A blaze ignited at the five-star Fairmont The Palm, in Dubai’s famous Palm Jumeirah area, after debris from an intercepted missile fell. The Burj Al Arab was also damaged while a terminal at the state’s busy international airport was struck in horror scenes.
Hundreds of thousands of expats and tourists, including around 240,000 British nationals, are now stuck with airspaces and airports shut for the foreseeable future, while the unrest continues. Despite this, Starkey shared a video of her standing on a balcony while she complained about the chaos in Dubai.
In the video viewed more than a million times online, she said: “I’m scared. I’m actually so scared. It’s not meant to be happening here. Can’t everyone just chill out?”
The influencer revealed she had been in the Jumeirah Village Circle, around 15km from the hotel that was hit yesterday. Starkey explained she heard loud bombs throughout the day but had not seen any drones until she pulled out her phone to record.
She said: “I’ve been hearing loud explosions in the background all day. The sound – it shakes the windows. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s the weirdest sound ever and now I’m seeing them.”
The influencer then appeared to claim Dubai should not be subjected to horror strikes as it supposed to be “the safest place”. She added: “This is not fun guys. We’re supposed to be in the safest place. I love the UAE, I love being here, I feel so safe all the time – and now I can see it. Please just stop.”
Starkey has appeared to have taken down the video but commenters rushed to the comments to share their divided thoughts on her clip. One furious person wrote: “The entitlement. It happens in Gaza, it’s fine. But if it happens to your luxury lifestyle, ‘it’s not meant to happen’.”
Another person said: “Not meant to be happening here has to be one of the most selfish statements I have ever heard. As if it’s meant to happen anywhere.”
A person sympathetic to Starkey’s take said: “It will be over soon. I’m in [Dubai], and I’ve been seeing them all day, but I have a very strong belief that this land is a land of peace and won’t be harmed. It’s just a temporary disturbance that will end soon. Stay strong.”
Saturday’s US/Israeli strikes on Tehran took out the regime’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – who was killed when at least four buildings in his compound. Several top officials and Khamenei’s daughter, son-in-law, grandchild and daughter-in-law were also killed.
