When American tourist Kristen Antoinette Gray began writing about her stay in Bali on Twitter, she apparently had little idea of the controversy she would cause. Gray and her girlfriend had travelled to Bali for six months but, when the pandemic hit, decided to wait it out on the island. The move had transformed their lifestyles, she wrote, allowing them to enjoy an “elevated lifestyle at a much lower cost of living”. Her business, which she ran as a digital nomad, had started to take shape, and the island had offered a much-needed respite from the political turmoil in the US. It was also, she said, a safe place for the black and queer community.