Australian singer Keli Holiday had his first North American tour cut short last week when he was “detained at the Canadian border” for several hours and later denied entry into the U.S.
The 35-year-old Holiday, whose real name is Adam Hyde, broke the news to his followers in a now-expired social media post on May 7, saying he would not be able to perform the Brooklyn show that night, “despite having the proper visa documentation,” Rolling Stone Australia reported .
“I’m still trying to get clarity on the situation myself,” Holiday said, noting that his touring party also had their visas revoked.
A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told National Post on Wednesday that the 35-year-old was denied due to “national security concerns” but did not elaborate.
Holiday, best known as one of two members of Aussie electronic act Peking Duk alongside Reuben Styles, had already performed shows in Los Angeles and Chicago before venturing into Ontario to play The Dance Cave in Toronto on May 6.
He was denied entry by CBP officers at Toronto Pearson International Airport the following day as he headed to New York City for the final tour stop that night.
Days after Holiday’s post, his girlfriend, Aussie media personality Abbie Chatfield, took to social media where she offered a profanity-strewn self-deprecating apology for a video she shared in 2025. In the now-deleted clip she made comments about Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year.
Holiday wasn’t mentioned in the video, but she wrote in the accompanying caption that “Adam hadn’t even seen this video, so any vitriol toward him is unwarranted,” implying he faced backlash online.
In her 10-minute contrition video, she explained that her commentary has been misinterpreted and misconstrued online to make it seem as though she was suggesting U.S. President Donald Trump should be assassinated.
“I disagree with Trump’s policy, his views, all of these things,” Chatfield said. “But I never said his name in this video. I never said it was about him. I never called for the assassination of him.”
She explained at length that her comments were meant to be a dark joke about incels — an online term applied to people, mostly heterosexual men, associated with communities built around resentment toward women, self-pity, difficulty finding romantic partners and sometimes misogynistic beliefs.
Indeed, Chatfield didn’t use Trump’s name in the July 2025 TikTok video, but neither did she mention Mangione. Instead, considering the existing level of gun violence in the U.S. , she asked, “Americans: When are you going to do it?” and “Why hasn’t it been done already?”, as reported by News Corp Australia. If an incel did it, she said, they would get “heaps of fan mail.”
“Just do it. You’re all doing it every day anyway,” she said.
In hindsight, Chatfield said the joke was wholly inappropriate and she understands now how it was perceived.
“It’s not appropriate to even joke about the Luigi Mangioni thing. It’s not appropriate to joke about incels and their violence. And it’s not appropriate to joke about or suggest that people should follow in the footsteps of Luigi, someone that’s been accused of what (he) has been accused of,” she said. “I really, really regret it.”
As for Holiday, his representatives told Rolling Stone that authorities have yet to tell him why he was denied entry.
“Adam Hyde was not deported,” the CBP spokesperson told National Post via email. “He was denied entry at Toronto Pearson International airport on May 7, 2026, due to national security concerns.”
They did not clarify what those concerns were or whether they were related to his or Chatfield’s social media, but said all travellers are screened by CBP officers “using longstanding U.S. immigration laws which list more than 60 grounds of inadmissibility divided into several major categories.”
“A visa is a privilege, not a right, and only those who respect our laws and follow the proper procedures will be welcomed,” the spokesperson wrote.
The singer is now back in Australia ahead of a series of shows before a short tour of Europe and the U.K. in June.
National Post has contacted Holiday’s management for comment.
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