Keli Holiday US entry: US border agents reveal reason singer Adam Hyde was refused entry after partner Abbie Chatfield’s apology video

The reason behind singer Adam Hyde being barred from re-entering the US was due to “national security concerns,” according to US Customs and Border Protection agents.

The ongoing border security saga made headlines since the Aussie artist, known as Keli Holiday, announced he was “detained all day” at the US-Canadian border last Thursday.

Online speculation claimed his partner Abbie Chatfield‘s previous comments on President Donald Trump could be the reason for Hyde being barred from entry – but according to a blunt statement from US Authorities, this was not necessarily the case.

When contacted by nine.com.au, US Customs and Border Protection confirmed Hyde was denied entry over to national security concerns.

“Adam Hyde was not deported. He was denied entry at Toronto Pearson International airport on May 7, 2026, due to national security concerns,” they said.

“The Trump administration is enforcing immigration laws – something the Biden administration failed to do.

“All persons arriving at a port of entry to the United States are subject to inspection on a case-by-case basis.”

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“As part of their critical national security mission, CBP officers routinely determine admissibility of foreign nationals using longstanding US immigration law which lists more than 60 grounds of inadmissibility divided into several major categories,” they added.

“If statutes or visa terms are violated, travellers may be subject to detention and removal.

“A visa is a privilege, not a right, and only those who respect our laws and follow the proper procedures will be welcomed.”

The Dancing 2 hitmaker was abruptly forced to cancel his New York show and fly back to Australia after he was refused re-entry into the US.

The artist was set to perform across four dates on his first North American tour.

Following his third show in Toronto on May 6, Hyde revealed he was unexpectedly detained at the Canadian border mid-tour.

Taking to Instagram at the time, the singer expressed regret at being unable to go ahead with his scheduled shows.

“Hello stunnas, unfortunately I’m not going to make it to tonight’s show at Baby’s All Right in NYC,” Hyde began in statement posted to his Stories.

“I have spent all day detained at the Canadian border and denied entry back into the US despite having the proper visa documentation in place. I’m still trying to get clarity on the situation myself.

“I’m honestly gutted… I hate letting people down.”

Nine.com.au reached out to Hyde’s representatives for comment at the time.

Following the news of Hyde’s failed entry attempt into the US, his girlfriend Abbie Chatfield released a statement apologising for a video she posted a year ago amid speculation it was the reason he was denied entry.

Chatfield shared a lengthy clip on social media on Tuesday morning and admitted she “regrets” ever making the video, which made light of several US issues, including Luigi Mangione and the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Hours later, a follower commented on the clip and asked if her apology came “off the back of your [boyfriend] being denied entry to the US, given you have had a year to rectify your comments.”

She responded: “This apology is coming off the back of… the fact that I’m getting thousands of comments about this and I’m going, “Oh, f***, I should probably say something,’

“And [those comments] are coming off the back of news articles saying this about Adam. Now, I want to be clear, we have no official reason for that [his detainment] happening.

“The reason why I’m saying it is because of that but it’s also because I really do want to change the way I communicate online and I feel I have been doing that.”

She continued: “I really tried to rein myself in in the past year because I think I’m maturing, but I also think it’s not helpful.

“I think that a lot of the people who have called me out previously by saying it’s not helpful, [they] probably are right.”

Chatfield said that because of the press coverage from her boyfriend’s recent US refusal, she was receiving thousands of comments and wanted to clarify the video. 

“Because of this press coverage, people are now posting it as a fact that I said verbatim that I want [harm] to happen to Trump, which I did not say,” she continued.

“So it’s a clarification right now, because yeah, I am getting thousands of comments. That’s the reality.”

In the clip, originally posted a year ago, Chatfield made a joke about Luigi Mangione and all of the love letters he received in prison after the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024.

“I thought, this is a funny joke to make about incels, and the redirection of anger and violence of incels and saying, look, this guy did this, look how much p—y he’s getting, right? Making a stupid, it’s a stupid joke,” she said in the apology video.

Chatfield claimed that her words got twisted and turned into being directed at US President Donald Trump.

“I was making a vague joke where the punchline was incels and the reaction to Luigi Mangione,” she continued.

“I disagree with Trump’s policy, his views, all of these things, right, 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 also addressed comments she made about Charlie Kirk after his assassination.

Chatfield said her comments had been “misrepresented”, but wanted to apologise for all of it.

“It’s not appropriate to make jokes like this, it’s not appropriate to even joke about the Luigi Mangione thing,” she added.

“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.

“I really, really regret it.”

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