A legal firestorm has ignited in Chicago as a prominent bar is taking decisive legal action against a TikTok personality amidst a swirling controversy.
Carmen Rossi is the owner of a bar named Hubbard Inn. He has recently launched a defamation lawsuit against 22-year-old TikTok sensation Julia Reel.
The lawsuit comes in response to Reel’s viral video. She has been sued for defamation after Reel claimed on social media that a security officer there had “manhandled” her.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Rossi asserts that Reel’s since-deleted TikTok video inflicted substantial harm on the establishment. Allegedly, the video led to a staggering $30,000 revenue loss and triggered mass reservation cancellations. Additionally, the staff was threatened, and the restaurant received a barrage of one-star reviews.
On the other side, Julia Reel stands firm on her allegations. She maintains that she and her friend were forcibly ejected from the premises on March 10. Reel claims that security ended up “grabbing” and “dragging” her before sending her “flying” down two flights of stairs.
However, security video on Hubbard Inn’s TikTok page seems to indicate differently.
The TikTok video shows Reel and her friendly heading down the stairs before leaving the building, with the text overlay reading: “She was politely escorted off the premises, ensuring a safe exit.”
Reel has stuck to her version of events, even though Hubbard Inn’s video seemed to change people’s perception of the bar. Their TikTok video was filled with supportive comments and offers to bring the bar business.
The legal team representing Reel named Corboy & Demetri, used its own TikTok account to refute Hubbard Inn’s “misleading narrative.” They asserted that the surveillance tape did not show the claimed altercation.
They wrote: “It is undisputed that Ms. Reel sustained a concussion and presented to the hospital with visible lacerations and other evidence of significant injury. Respectfully, we urge the public to hold off on a rush to judgment and/or victim shaming until all the evidence is presented in a court of law.”