Crown Perth hotel issues apology statement, sacks employees who breached Kohli's privacy

The Crown Perth hotel has issued a statement after India cricketer Virat Kohli raised concerns about invasion of privacy as he shared a video in which one of the staff members is seen secretly filming inside Kohli's room in his absence.

The hotel in its statement said that it is incredibly disappointed with the incident and has apologised to the former Indian cricket team captain. It further stated that the staff members involved in making the video of Kohli's room have been sacked. 

"We are aware of an incident involving a contractor and the privacy of a guest at Crown Perth. The safety and privacy of our guests is our number one priority, and we are incredibly disappointed this incident has occurred. We unreservedly apologise to the guest involved and will continue to take the necessary steps to ensure this remains an isolated incident. We have zero tolerance for this behaviour, and it falls well below the standards we set for our team members and contractors," the statement read.  

"Crown took immediate steps to rectify the issue, including launching an investigation, standing down the individuals involved and removing them from the Crown account. The original video was also swiftly removed from the social media platform. We are also cooperating with the Indian Cricket team and the International Cricket Council to convey our apologies and will continue to work with them as we progress our investigation," the statement added. 

Kohli reacts to the viral video

Earlier, Virat Kohli issued a statement where he said that the video of his room doing rounds on social media is appalling and has made him feel very paranoid about his privacy. Kohli stated that he is not okay with this kind of fanaticism and absolute invasion of privacy, urging people to respect people's privacy and not treat them as commodities of entertainment. 

"I understand that fans get very happy and excited seeing their favourite players and get excited to meet them and I’ve always appreciated that. But this video here is appalling and it’s made me feel very paranoid about my privacy. If I cannot have privacy in my own hotel room, then where can I really expect any personal space at all?? I’m NOT okay with this kind of fanaticism and absolute invasion of privacy. Please respect people’s privacy and not treat them as a commodity for entertainment," Kohli wrote on Instagram. 

Reacting to the same, Virat Kohli's wife and actor Anushka Sharma also strongly reacted and lashed out at the fan who recorded Virat’s personal space without his consent.

Image: ANI/Instagram/Kohli/CrownPerth