Nadia Bartel has been at the centre of a scandal after video was leaked online showing her ‘snorting cocaine’ during a gathering in Melbourne on Thursday night.
And now a new report claims the video initially found its way online due to a cracked phone screen.
The clip was accidentally uploaded to Instagram by Bartel’s friend and business partner, Ellie Pearson, on Thursday night and deleted shortly after.
A new report claims video of Nadia Bartel (right) which shows her ‘snorting cocaine’ during a gathering in Melbourne on Thursday night was posted online because her friend and business partner, Ellie Pearson (left), had a cracked phone screen and hit the wrong button
The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Saturday that Ellie was attempting to send the video to her sister.
However, because her phone screen was damaged, she hit the wrong buttons.
As a result, the clip was posted to both Instagram and Facebook, and was online for around ten minutes before being deleted, the paper claims.
The clip was accidentally uploaded to Instagram by Pearson on Thursday night and deleted shortly after. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Saturday that Ellie was attempting to send the video to her sister Bonnie Pearson
However, because her phone screen was damaged, she hit the wrong buttons. As a result, the clip was posted to both Instagram and Facebook, and was online for around ten minutes before being deleted, the paper claims
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Ellie Pearson for comment.
Pearson, who filmed the viral clip, revealed she was remorseful over the incident.
‘I’m just devastated,’ Pearson told The Herald Sun on Friday evening.
Bartel was visited by police after she was filmed breaking Melbourne’s strict lockdown and snorting what is believed to be cocaine at a party on Thursday night.
In the viral video, Bartel snorts the powder off a $1.50 Kmart plate being held by a dark-haired woman, as a third woman displays a two-fingered hand gesture in the background
Victorian police attended the 36-year-old’s $3million inner-city residence on Friday evening, hours after the video was accidently uploaded.
Two plainclothes police officers were seen arriving at Bartel’s home but were reportedly unable to make contact with her.
Police have since confirmed that Bartel has spoken with them, and no fines have been issued as of Saturday.
‘Victoria Police is aware of a video currently on social media depicting alleged illicit drug use and an alleged breach of CHO directions,’ a spokeswoman told The Herald Sun on Saturday.
‘I’m just devastated,’ Pearson told The Herald Sun on Friday evening. The pair are pictured together buying wine before the party.
‘Victoria Police has made contact with a 36-year-old Windsor woman who is assisting with inquiries. As the investigation is ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time,’ the spokesperson added.
Bartel broke her silence and issued an apology over the incident on Friday evening.
‘Hi everyone, I have let you all down by my actions. I take full responsibility and I am committed to taking all necessary steps to ensure I make better choices in future,’ she wrote in an Instagram post on Friday evening.
Breaking her silence in a post shared to Instagram on Friday afternoon, the 36-year-old mum of two wrote: ‘Hi everyone, I have let you all down by my actions. I take full responsibility and I am committed to taking all necessary steps to ensure I make better choices in future’
‘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.’
Footage of Bartel snorting white powder off a plate at the gathering started going viral on Friday morning.
Private and public gatherings are not permitted in Melbourne, where Bartel lives, under Victoria’s Covid restrictions. Police have since confirmed that Bartel has spoken with them, and no fines have been issued as of Saturday, however she is ‘assisting with enquiries’
In the video, Bartel is seen snorting the powder off a $1.50 Kmart plate being held by a dark-haired woman, as a third woman displays a two-fingered hand gesture in the background.
Private and public gatherings are not permitted in Melbourne, where Bartel lives, under Victoria’s Covid restrictions.
Nadia’s apology – which includes an appeal for forgiveness from health workers – appears to confirm the gathering was held on Thursday evening.
Bartel has turned off comments on her Instagram after the embarrassing video was leaked
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Bartel for comment.
Meanwhile, Bartel has turned off comments on her Instagram posts after the
embarrassing video was leaked.
She has also updated her Instagram bio to remove any reference to her companies, Henne and Spray Aus, perhaps because they were being targeted by trolls.
On Friday afternoon, Nadia’s father visited her at her home in Melbourne and is understood to have stayed 30 minutes.
She has also updated her Instagram bio to remove any reference to her companies, Henne and Spray Aus. (Top: her current bio; bottom: how her bio used to look via an Instagram mirror site)
Bartel had been pictured wearing the same outfit she had on in the video while picking up a box of wine in Melbourne earlier on Thursday.
Nadia was joined by Pearson, with whom she runs the Spray Aus fake tan company.
She donned a one-shoulder top from her fashion brand Henne, which she teamed with a pair of black skinny jeans.
She is the ex-wife of retired AFL star Jimmy Bartel (right), a Brownlow Medallist who spent his career with the Geelong Cats. The couple split in 2019 after five years of marriage
Bartel is a mother of two and entrepreneur who runs the fake-tan company Spray Aus and clothing label Henne.
She is the ex-wife of retired AFL star Jimmy Bartel, a Brownlow Medallist who spent his career with the Geelong Cats.
The couple split in 2019 after five years of marriage.
Jimmy spent Thursday and Friday with the former couple’s two sons, Aston, five, and Henley, three, posting these updates on Instagram