INSIDE NADIA’S INSTA SCANDAL
FORMER WAG NADIA BARTEL’S CAREER HANGS BY A THREAD AFTER BEING CAUGHT UP IN A SCANDAL
They are the people we often turn to for fashion and beauty advice these days, but one Aussie social media star has gone from being the influencer to being sprung allegedly under the influence. Fashion designer and former WAG Nadia Bartel caused a media storm on September 2, after footage emerged of her snorting an unknown white substance off a plate.
While the content of the three-second video itself was shocking enough, it caused even more outrage as it showed the 36-year-old among a number of other maskless women at an indoor gathering – despite Victoria, where Bartel resides, being currently under strict stay-at-home orders.
The mother-of-two and ex-wife of retired AFL player Jimmy Bartel was quick to issue a sincere public apology the day after the video was accidentally uploaded to Instagram by her friend Ellie Pearson.
“Hi everyone, I have let you all down by my actions. I take full responsibility and am committed to taking all necessary steps to ensure I make better choices in the future,” she wrote. “To my family and friends, my business partners and the public health workers trying to keep us all safe, I am embarrassed and remorseful. I am truly and deeply sorry. I hope I can earn your forgiveness and, in time, your trust.” Bartel, along with three other women pictured at the illegal gathering, were issued hefty $5452 fines by Victorian Police and are still being investigated over potential drug offences. Premier Daniel Andrews also slammed Bartel and the group at his daily COVID-19 press conference on September 5. “A number of people were doing the wrong thing,” he said. “I would be absolutely certain [the chief commissioner] would want the law applied equally, whether you used to be related to a footballer or not.”
The influencer has faced intense backlash from the scandal, forcing her to turn off her social media comments. She has also been dropped by two of her sponsors, JSHealth and Hairhouse Australia, with more expected to follow. And with insiders revealing Bartel is “genuinely apologetic” over her actions, questions still remain over how the video made its way into the public domain – having only been uploaded for 10 minutes before swiftly being deleted.
Some reports suggest that Pearson was attempting to send the video to her sister, but accidentally uploaded it to her Instagram and Facebook Stories due to a cracked phone screen. And according to other insiders, another member of Bartel’s social group was responsible for passing on the damning footage to media outlets in an attempt to “destroy” her.
“[It] was deliberately leaked by someone within Nadia’s elite Melbourne social circle,” a source told website Daily Mail Australia. “This is someone who for all intents and purposes seems to be Nadia’s friend on Instagram but they are secretly jealous.
“They pounced on it and immediately sent it to people they knew could get it to the press quickly,” the source continued. “This was part of a campaign of revenge … someone wants to shut her down.”
The scandal didn’t end there, with entertainment reporter Peter Ford later
“It was deliberately leaked”
SOURCE
claiming on Twitter that a nude photo of Bartel is reportedly circulating. “Someone has now ‘leaked’ a nude picture of her,” Ford shared. “This means it now becomes a case of revenge porn and matter for the police. It also means she’s now a victim as opposed to the earlier story, which would garner her little sympathy.” Bartel, when contacted by WHO for comment, did not respond.