The viral video of a woman urinating in a lake is from Australia, and she is a citizen of that country
A video and a screengrab from the same clip are circulating on social media (here, here, and here) with the claim that it shows an American woman defecating in Udaipur’s sacred lake, leading to angry reactions and demands for action against her. Let’s verify the claim made in the post in this article.
Claim: The video shows an American woman defecating in Udaipur’s sacred lake.
Fact: The woman in the viral clip is not an American tourist in Udaipur. She has been identified as Ellie-Jean Coffey, an Australian model and surfer, and the video was filmed during a family boat trip in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Talking to the media, she clarified that she has never visited India and reposted the clip on her Instagram account on 12 October 2025, stating that she is an Australian citizen. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE
To verify the claim, we conducted a reverse image search of key frames from the viral video, which led us to the same clip uploaded on the Instagram account of Ellie‐Jean Coffey (@elliejeancoffey) on 29 August 2025. On reviewing her profile bio, we found that she identifies herself as a sportsperson who specialises in surfing.
A Google search using relevant keywords led us to multiple Australian and Indian media reports identifying the woman in the viral clip as Australian model and surfer Ellie-Jean Coffey. She told the media she received abusive messages and even death threats after the video was falsely claimed to show her defecating in a lake in Udaipur. Coffey clarified that she has never visited India and that the video was filmed in the Kimberley region of Western Australia during a family boat trip, where she urinated over the side of a boat while keeping an eye on a nearby crocodile. The clip, originally recorded as a casual moment, later went viral and sparked demands for action against her based on the false claim.
Ellie-Jean Coffey reposted the video on her Instagram account on 12 October 2025, clearly stating that the clip is not from India. She mentioned that she is an Australian citizen and said the video was filmed in the Aussie outback.
To sum up, the viral video of a woman urinating in a lake is from Australia, and she is a citizen of that country.