Bindi Irwin, Chandler Powell trolled for marrying hours before coronavirus lockdown kicked in: 'Celebrity perks'
Just minutes after the late Steve Irwin's daughter Bindi got married to her fiance, Chandler Powell, in a private ceremony without guests on March 25, the newlyweds faced the wrath of trollers on the Internet who blamed them for rushing to "beat the ban" amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The wedding took place hours after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison enforced restrictions on public ceremonies with more than five people in attendance. The wedding was attended by Bindi's mother Terri and brother Robert who walked her down the aisle. The ceremony was officiated by Terri's close confidant, US-based author Steve Maraboli.
Soon after the wedding, Bindi took to Instagram to confirm that in the light of the pandemic, they had decided not to invite any guests to the wedding. "We've planned this beautiful day for nearly a year and had to change everything, as we didn't have guests at our wedding," she wrote on a post. "This was a very difficult decision but important to keep everyone safe."
As footage of their wedding preparations emerged, the couple got trolled on social media for rushing with their wedding in order to "beat the ban."
"#coronavirusaustralia.Hahaha!! ANOTHER perfect example of just ONE of the perks of being a 'CELEBRITY' in OZ...So BINDI IRWIN gets away with 'bringing her FORTY GUEST +FAMILY & HANGERS-ON CELEBRITY WEDDING' forward to BEAT THE BAN ON Max 5 Weddings..AND SHE GETS IN MAGAZINES!!" one user wrote.
Another user criticized them after a number of people were seen huddled together with white umbrellas at one spot during the ceremony in the footage. "How's that social distancing working for you? Nice umbrella cluster," the user wrote.
However, Bindi's fans did come to her and Chandler's rescue, supporting their decision to go ahead with the wedding.
"Y'all coming for Bindi Irwin who had NO guests at her wedding and got married on site at the zoo where she lives (!) are so nasty," one wrote, while another quipped, "If any of you speak ill of Bindi Irwin for having her wedding despite the pandemic, it's ON SITE. They didn't have any guests and it was at the zoo where they basically live."
With Australia seeing a surge in the number of coronavirus cases, Morrison's announcement about restricting the number of people at public events came at a crucial time. "Large gatherings for weddings, sadly, won't be possible under these new arrangements," Daily Mail reported him as saying.
"Sadly, also, and I know this will be very difficult, funerals to no more than 10 persons observing the rules around the four-square-metre rule and the social distancing practices. This is not an easy decision. Where we have already found, and Dr Murphy (Australia's Chief Medical Officer Professor Brendan Murphy)] can speak to this, some of the events that have been some of the major transmitting events, it has been exactly these types of events, particularly weddings. And that is why, regretfully, we have to be able to put these arrangements in place."