Natalie Portman and Sacha Baron Cohen did not break lockdown rules, Australia police confirm
Australian police have said that Natalie Portman and Sacha Baron Cohen did not breach lockdown rules over a recent boat ride on Sydney harbour.
- READ MORE: The rise of Sacha Baron Cohen: from Hammersmith to Hollywood
Public concerns were raised against the actors after it was announced that harsher coronavirus restrictions were being enforced in Sydney from last Friday (July 2).
According to Sydney’s stay-at-home order, people should only leave their homes for essential reasons.
Paparazzi photos emerged on The Daily Mail that showed Baron Cohen, Portman and her husband, Benjamin Millepied, on the boat ride on Monday (July 5).
“Officers attached to Northern Beaches Police Area Command received information about a group on a boat on Monday 5 July 2021. This potentially breached Public Health Orders (PHOs),” New South Wales Police said in a statement.
“Police have reviewed the information and confirm the activity, and the number of people in the group, complied with the PHOs in force at that time. There will be no further police action taken.”
Sydney has been in lockdown since June in response to a 400-case outbreak of the Delta variant.
However, the case rate has continued to climb, officials say. This is in part because of people breaking the rules.
Portman and Millepied are currently in Sydney on filming commitments. Meanwhile, Baron Cohen has been locked down in the city with his Australian wife Isla Fisher.
Australia shut its borders to international travel in March 2020. However, it has made exceptions for celebrities and public figures which has caused public backlash.
The country has also been chosen as a shooting location for large scale Hollywood productions such as Thor: Love and Thunder , which stars Portman as Mighty Thor, and Elvis starring Tom Hanks.
