A TikTok user’s negative experience at a Chicago bar has become the subject of scrutiny online after the business sued the patron and shared security video to dispute her account.
In a now-deleted video, Julia Reel said a security guard at Hubbard Inn was “grabbing” and “manhandling” her and a friend while escorting them off the premises on March 10. She also said a guard pushed her, sending her “flying down the staircase” of the bar. (NBC News reviewed Reel’s video, which others have reposted on TikTok after it was removed.)
The owners of Hubbard Inn filed a defamation lawsuit against Reel on Monday.
Reel’s viral videos resulted in “damages to the business, staff and reputation,” as well as “considerable negative reviews and messages,” the bar said in a TikTok video on March 13. The bar’s owners echoed a similar claim in the lawsuit, a copy of which has been reviewed by NBC News, saying they lost $30,000 in business because of Reel’s video.
The bar posted its video on TikTok attempting to dispute Reel’s account by sharing security video of two women, who the business claims are Reel and her friend, being led out of the bar by a security guard who does not appear to be touching either of them. The video, which received over 3 million views on TikTok, also shows the women walking down the bar’s staircase with the guard.
Reel did not respond to a request for comment. Almost all of her videos — including ones detailing her experience — have been wiped from her page. Only one TikTok video remains up: a statement from her attorneys posted Saturday alleging that she sustained a concussion and multiple lacerations from bar security.
The differing accounts have sent the internet into a speculation frenzy — with many sharing their unconfirmed theories online in an attempt to decipher what happened. Some questioned Reel’s story because of the video released by Hubbard Inn. Others cautioned against drawing any definitive…
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