Australian surf star Ellie-Jean Coffey has spoken out after receiving death threats from social media users in India who falsely accused her of defecating in a sacred lake.
The 30-year-old posted a light-hearted Instagram video showing her urinating off the side of a boat in Western Australia’s remote Kimberley region, with a crocodile just metres away. But within hours, the clip was reposted by Indian accounts claiming she had desecrated a lake near Udaipur, prompting outrage across Indian social media.
One account, Swadesiofficial, labelled her an “American tourist” and called for her deportation, while others flooded her feed with abuse. “I started getting comments from people questioning whether I was in India,” Coffey told News Corp. “Then I saw the posts and couldn’t believe it. I’ve never even been to India.”
The surfer later clarified the misunderstanding, captioning her post: “I’m setting the record straight: I’m Australian. This is the Aussie outback. It was not in India.”
Despite her explanation, the video continued to circulate online, with some commenters demanding her arrest. “It’s so wild how fast a lie can spread online,” Coffey said. “I would never do something like that. It spun completely out of control.”
Coffey, once one of Australia’s brightest surfing prospects, has previously spoken about her difficult exit from professional competition, citing mental and physical abuse within the sport.
Now based on the Gold Coast, she has spent the past nine months travelling through northern Australia, documenting her adventures — and, unintentionally, learning just how far a viral misunderstanding can reach.
