Porn Star Bonnie Blue Arrested in Bali on Shocking Charges

Pornographic content creator Bonnie Blue. was arrested in Bali for, yep, you. guessed it, allegedly making explicit. adult material and in Indonesia that is. a serious, serious [music] offense. And. if the reporting is correct, she could. now be looking at 15 years in jail. We're going to try to make sense of the. situation and the potential consequences. with an international law attorney. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law &. Crime. I'm Jesse Weber.

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no issue making your husband cheat. But. it's so annoying, like I have a shower, makeup, hair, and then it's within. minutes, like completely destroyed. I. I've just been. the players, got a very red eye. Bonnie. Blue, real name Tia Bullinger, 26 years. old, British pornographic performer, content creator, she is in a lot of hot. water right now overseas because she was. arrested in Bali for allegedly making. adult material. And let me tell you,

that is a big no-no out in Indonesia. Right now, it's being reported that. violating anti-porn laws there could get. you locked up potentially for 15 years. in jail and hit with a fine of about 6. billion rupiah. That's around $360,000. Now, what exactly is she accused of. doing? Driving around in a truck labeled, sorry. to say this, bang bus and picking up young men. allegedly to create pornographic. material. In fact, she appeared to post.

herself on that truck on social media. >> Hey parents, remember when I said I was. going to pick your sons up? I wasn't lying. Hi boys. >> [screaming]. >> NOW, ACCORDING to reporting from The Sun. and Australian news outlet 9 News, 17. men, mostly from Australia and Blue, were arrested by authorities as part of. a raid on her studio. Now, while it's. being reported that 14 young men were. released, Blue was apparently kept in.

custody as well as two other British men. and one other Australian guy. But it was. also reported that the 14 Australian. tourists, they were hiding their faces. from the cameras when they were caught, like they put their t-shirts on their. faces. And they were already interviewed. by Indonesian authorities. Now, news.com.au. is reporting that Bonnie Blue was. released from police custody, but would. be questioned by authorities over the. next 2 days by immigration officials. So, it seems the immigration officials. and law enforcement work hand in hand.

Again, this is all over allegedly making. explicit pornographic materials. And. according to The Sun, Indonesia bans the. production and distribution of this kind. of adult content, particularly if it. involves children, although to be clear, there is no evidence that any minors. were involved in any of this. Now, according to The Independent, police. said that Blue's group were allegedly. creating, quote, content containing. pornographic or immoral elements. And. according to the Badung police chief,

who we're going to talk about a little. bit more, came out and said, "It is. suspected that the place was used by the. alleged perpetrator to produce. pornographic videos." What does that. mean? Well, according to The Sun and the. Daily Mail, police found a lot. By the. way, this was interesting, too. Apparently, her Instagram account was. seized by authorities, too, because. again, she is accused of soliciting. teenagers over the age of 18 into. filming the sex acts. And you have to. wonder if it was videos like this that.

could be analyzed to be an issue for. her. Hey boys, tomorrow I want to ask you one. question when you see the bang bus. Spend 2 minutes with me alone or double. it and pass it on. She also apparently. said in another post, quote, "Hey boys, those who are going to schoolies and. those that are barely legal, cannot wait. to meet you. I'm in Bali, so you know. exactly what that means.". Going back to the police chief here, the. Badung police chief, Arif Batubara, told. the media that the arrest came after.

someone alerted them about, quote, "suspected pornography or the creation. of indecent video material." Batubara. told reporters that Blue was passed off. to the immigration officials, that her. passport was seized. Apparently, she was. here on a tourist visa. There was an. immigration source that told The Sun, quote, "We will be deepening the. investigation to check her activity. during her time in Bali and work jointly. with police." And regarding the other. three men that were also detained with. her, "If they did not make commercial. content, maybe that's not a problem. If.

they make commercial content, we could. charge them." This is again according to. this immigration source, who added, "We. could also check whether it is created. unrest in the community or not." So, the. laws over there are very, very different. from what we have here. And according to. the Daily Mail, authorities also say. there's a problem with the bus, that the. bus was not legal because it was. registered as being white in color, but. was repainted dark blue. And apparently, the vehicle tax expired as well.

As for the 14 men that were released, Batubara said, according to the Daily. Mail, quote, "Today, with assistance. from immigration, we are releasing the. 14 Australians who were detained. yesterday for clarification and. investigative purposes as witnesses. They are being released because they do. not meet the criteria for further. suspicion as the case is still under. investigation.". But I mean, it looks like Bonnie Blue is. in some trouble here, right? And to give. you an idea of what we're talking about, how serious it is, and again, I'm going. to bring on an international law.

attorney in a minute who has been to. Bali, knows the laws there, can give us. a sense about how serious this is. The South China Morning Post reported in. an article last year that Bali took this. very aggressive initiative against. indecent acts, that there was 157. foreigners who were kicked out of the. island for doing things. You have 194. people that were temporarily held at an. immigration center who were waiting to. be deported. So, they have taken a very. aggressive stance against indecent acts.

and activity and things of that nature. Now, I should also mention. that Bonnie Blue is no stranger to. controversy with the legal system. She. was apparently banned from Australia. last year after she allegedly planned to. create pornographic content with. 18-year-olds and make money off of it by. posting online. And because she applied. for a standard visitor tourist visa and. went on that, you can't engage in paid. work or commercial activity, her visa. was apparently canceled before she even. entered the country because of what she. was promoting. There was even a.

change.org petition, by the way, that. got thousands of signatures begging the. Australian government to not let her. come in. She was also accused, by the way, of. faking her own arrest out in the UK, that it was a publicity stunt. And. something else making the waves is that. Bonnie Blue's former collaborator, OnlyFans influencer Annie Knight, has. spoken up. She spoke to Us Weekly and. said, quote, "In my industry, anytime. you go overseas, you have to be aware of. the laws surrounding sex work in the. country you're visiting. I always am.

super thorough with my research whenever. I travel and make sure to be extra. cautious. I never do my job in a country. where my work is illegal, and I just. would never risk myself like that. Honestly, Bonnie being arrested really. didn't shock me. Bonnie went to Bali, a. country where sex work is illegal, and. despite knowing that, she still chose to. do it and break the law. Being arrested. was always going to be a risk, and I did. try to warn her, but she didn't listen, and now she is experiencing the. repercussions. That being said, it must.

be absolutely terrifying being arrested. in a different country, and I really. hope she's okay.". And then again, when she claimed that. she tried to warn her, she heard my. warnings and she chose to ignore them, and it's hard to feel sorry for her. She made her bed, and now she's lying in. it. Okay, so I have a ton of questions. about this. I don't not familiar with. the laws over there, what the real. potential consequences could be, whether. or not there are any international. avenues or resources that could help her. out. So, let's talk about it. Okay, time.

to bring in David De Furry, international law attorney. Whenever you. have these kind of cases, he's the. perfect guest to have on. David, thank. you so much for taking the time. First. of all, my understanding is you have. spent time there. So, you have spent. time in Bali. What do people not realize. about the Indonesian laws? I mean, this. is really, really strict. What What What. do we not understand about their laws. there? Thanks, Jesse. Good to be on with. you again. You know, Bali is in. Indonesia. Indonesia is the largest. Muslim country in the world. So, across.

Indonesia, there are conservative values. because of its Muslim background. But. Bali actually is not Muslim. Bali Bali. is Hindu and it's a mix of Hinduism and. traditional Balinese culture and. religion. As a result, Bali also is very. culturally conservative, especially when. it comes to public displays of. affection. That is very much. discouraged. When you're there, you're. not supposed to kiss in public. Even. holding hands in public for too long can.

be controversial in Bali. Obviously, it's not illegal, but it's frowned upon. Are people though getting arrested for. kind of uh indecent uh indecent acts, whether it's, you know, something. extreme like allegedly making. pornographic material or or displaying. certain. uh. you know, the way they dress or things. of that nature? I mean, are people. getting arrested? Are they being. detained? Are they being criminally. charged? Are they going to jail? Are. they being deported? Uh explain to us.

Yes. Um there are previous cases where. foreigners have been arrested for making. pornography or distributing pornography. And keep in mind that the law that. prohibits the making or distribution of. pornography pornography is an Indonesian. law. So, it applies across Indonesia. But in Bali, they are going to going to. enforce that law because it comports. with their traditional values.

Is she legitimately looking at 15 years. in prison? I mean, 15 years in jail for. something like this? If they say that. she was creating, let's say uh uh. pornographic material with young men? I guess it would be even more. aggravating if she was doing it for. money, right? Putting it up online and. monetizing it. Is she really looking at. 15 years in jail? I think she is. Now, here's a couple caveats. Um I think. about the case of Schapelle Corby. I. don't know if you remember if your. audience remembers that one, but she was.

an Australian woman in 2004 who went to. Bali and then they found in her boogie. board she had put cannabis or marijuana. Allegedly, she denied that. And she was. arrested for transporting marijuana into. Indonesia and she was sentenced to 20. years in prison. So, this was a big case. that got a lot of media attention. And. one of the interesting things is that. despite all of the media attention and. pressure on Indonesia not to maintain.

such a significant sentence on her, they. went through with it. And I think she. spent something like 11 years in prison. She was ultimately released, but even. after she was released after 11 years or. so, she actually had to stay in Bali for. a few more years under probation. So, I. think her total time where she was not. free to leave was something like 14. years. And so, that's what Bonnie is. facing now. It's a different crime. And. pornography may get a slightly less.

harsh sentence than than a drug crime. because drug crimes are especially. frowned upon in Indonesia and Indonesia. is known to be very strict about. enforcing its drug laws. But in this. case, because also uh there the the the. what she's been convicted of or what. what she's been charged with is uh. you know, carries such a long a such a. big sentence. It is possible she could. serve 14 years. Now now, to be clear, she hasn't officially been charged, but. they're investigating here. And and I.

guess the question is, what are they. looking at? So, they found all they. apparently found all these materials, right? In the place where she was. staying, which would look like somebody. that is about to engage in sexual. activities, potentially sexual. activities uh uh on camera. Why are they. looking at her Instagram, too? Why did. they seize her Instagram account? Because if you look at her Instagram, she was putting up stories and videos. from Bali where she was encouraging. um university students from Australia.

who were there right now during their. break uh holiday [snorts] break to. meet with her and to engage in. pornographic um. activities with her that would be. filmed. She's known to do this around. the world, as you know, but what was. interesting is she was using social. media as a way to recruit people to. engage in these pornographic activities. So, her defense would have to be we. never actually engaged in any acts or if. we did engage in acts, it wasn't filmed.

or if it was filmed, it wasn't. commercial like uh we weren't monetizing. it. Or is it, "Hey, listen. If you're. filming it and you're doing this, that's. it." And I and I wonder if that I mean, cuz I'm trying to understand. I don't. know anything about the laws over there, uh which is why I want to have you on. I. mean, what are ways that she could. potentially get out of this? You're exactly right. That would be her. defense. That despite what I said on. social media and the provocative videos. that I put up, we didn't actually engage. in any pornographic activities here and.

we didn't film them and we did not. distribute them, which is what the law. prohibits. Now, because they've seized. her vehicle and they probably searched. where she was staying, they may have. found those types of materials. That's. not clear yet. I'm sure they're looking. through her phone, looking through um. her video camera and and and other. recording devices to see what she. actually recorded. By the way, so I. mentioned that she was released uh from. custody, but her pants her passport was.

seized. She's transferred to the. immigration authorities who apparently. work hand in hand with law enforcement. here. They're going to be interrogating. her or will interrogate her or have. interrogated her for a period of 48. hours. What is going on there? What can be the. product of that? Is she going to be. uh removed from the country? I mean, how. does it work? Well, this law and also the drug laws. both enable in the Indonesian. authorities to arrest and prosecute. someone for violating the laws or allow.

them to transfer them to immigration. authorities so they can be deported. So, her best hope is that she is deported. And she should want to be deported as. soon as possible so she doesn't have to. face any potential criminal charges. related to violating this law. It's not. clear if Indonesia is going to do that. Of course, if there's international. pressure, especially from her own. country, maybe they would choose to do. that. Could they Could Is there an. extradition agreement in place if she. were to go back to the UK?

Uh do they have to send her back to Bali. to be prosecuted? Do you know anything. about that? Well, one of the things about. extradition, as you know, is you cannot. extradite someone from another country. if the. crime that they're being extradited for. is not a crime in that country. That's. generally an important concept of. extradition law. So, if what she did. allegedly in Indonesia is not a crime in. the UK, the UK likely would not. extradite her. Okay. Does it matter.

going back to this idea about with the. immigration issue if this material was. being put out there for commercial. purposes? You know, we had an. immigration source who said it also. matters if this activity created unrest. in the community. Um. it seems like it's quite broad to. suggest what could be violating um. Indonesian law or policy here. That's right. And because of the way she. went about this, again, going to bars.

and clubs in the heart of Bali and and. Bali's entertainment districts and. filming videos and doing shots with. young men, she might be It might be. arguable that she did create that kind. of havoc in the community that would. also be a basis for prosecuting her. What uh I just thought this was. interesting. They released the 14 men. As I mentioned, apparently they had they. were like trying to cover their faces as. they're walking out there shirtless. They have shirts on their faces.

I I don't know why they would be. released if they're potential witnesses. in this case, right? Wouldn't they be. interviewed and say, "Hey, listen. This. is what happened." I was confused by. that. Good point. My understanding is they. were released, but their passports were. taken. So, they're not going to be able. to travel. Bali is an island and uh. without a passport, they're not going to. be able to leave, at least not by. airplane. And so, that may be the reason. why they were released on their own. recognizance, but they could be called. back in to be witnesses. And maybe some.

of them could be charged if they engaged. in pornographic activities with her that. were recorded for the purposes of. distribution. You mentioned uh other. countries helping. Can the UK government. get involved here? Not saying that they. would uh or wouldn't, but um. is that something What avenues, what uh. tools, what resources could be used to. help her? Well, every country has an obligation to. look out for the legal rights of their. citizens when they are abroad. And.

that's part of what embassies are. responsible for doing. Now, the UK. embassy is in Jakarta, not in Bali. But. UK may have a consulate in Bali. And. obviously, it's possible for UK. officials to travel to Bali. My guess is. the UK diplomats in Jakarta have already. been in touch with Indonesian. authorities. Um they normally Normally, diplomats try to advocate for their. citizens, but they also have to respect. the local law. And if someone knowingly.

violates a a law in a foreign country, it's hard for a diplomat to insist that. that person has to be released because. again, UK doesn't want Indonesians. violating UK laws while they're in UK. Is it clear that this was a violation? I. mean, like somebody's traveling to Bali, whether whatever the purpose might be. Um would it be clear Where would they. find out information about, "Okay. These. are the laws. These are how strict the. laws are. This is what you can and. cannot do.". Is it clear? I mean, where would people.

even be able to get those resources and. know uh whether or not what they're. going to be doing while they're visiting. uh could violate their laws. Whether. it's, you know, walking in somewhere. There's certain aspects you would. imagine would be illegal, but you also. have to be thinking and I'm encourage. everybody to do their own research. before they travel abroad, but. particularly in a country like this, is. it clear how strict their laws are and. what you can and can't do? It's not always clear. Although I would. note that embassies normally have a page.

for the country and they will explain. the different laws that vary from the. laws of the home country and warn people. who are traveling to that country about. not violating this the laws. You know, one thing that's also important to note. is that it can be confusing when you're. in Bali because Bali is actually sort of. this. free. free like environment. It's. a very progressive in some ways for.

foreigners. There's a lot of, you know, drinking and partying and clubs and bars. on every street, especially where she. was doing this in the area of Kuta and. Legian in Bali. And so you would see. that if you were visiting and you might. think, "Oh, this is a very permissive. environment." And think it's okay if you. didn't know what the laws say. Is this a real issue today. What do I mean by that? In today's day. and age, there's a million content. creators. It seems to me like a lot of.

times you go on social media, it's like, you know, creating these outrageous. situations, putting themselves in. positions where they know it's going to. go viral and doing things that might be. outrageous, maybe potentially illegal. But do you see this as a real issue. today where content creators may be. going abroad and doing things. and you know, getting themselves in. trouble for views, for clicks. This is not the the first time you're. going to hear something like this. I.

think you're absolutely right. I think. we can expect more stories like this as. content creators push the envelope, especially in foreign countries. And. it's, you know, a shot across the bow. for content creators to remember to. think about the country that you're in. And she picked one of the worst. countries to do this. Indonesia and also. it would also be bad to try to do this. in Middle Eastern countries that have, you know, Muslim culture, Muslim.

religion and are also very conservative. So the Middle East, some places in. Africa and some places in Asia would be. the worst to do this. If she had done. this in the UK, in. almost any European country, in the. United States, this would not be. considered a crime. And real quick, her. celebrity status. I mean, she's got a. lot of followers, people know who she. is. Does that affect this investigation? Does that affect the consequences there? Is there pressure on the government.

there to do or not do something? I think it will create some pressure and. there will be a lot of attention for. this story. It is obviously a sexy, interesting. story. So I think we can. expect more people are going to become. aware of it and it's going to be. continually publicized with new stories. in media outlets about it and that will. put pressure on Indonesia. Tourism is. very important in Indonesia. Almost 5. million people visit Bali a year. The.

Bali economy is basically a tourism. economy. So they don't want to dissuade. tourists from coming. But then I look. back at that Schapelle Corby case, the. woman from Australia who was prosecuted. for bringing marijuana into Bali and. even though there was tons of pressure. from around the world and especially. from her home country Australia, Indonesia did not give in. I'll also say, you know, if these. allegations are true, not everybody's. going to Bali to create pornographic. content. So it's a little bit of a a.

different kind of situation. All right, let's see where this goes. David DeFur Thank you so much for coming. on and explaining the situation to us. We really appreciate it. Thanks, Jesse. And that's all we have for you right now. here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so. much for joining us and as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple. Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should. get your podcast. You can follow me on X. or Instagram. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll. speak to you next time.