Zara and its security firm, Bidvest Noonan, have been ordered to pay €20,000 in damages to a Traveller community member and TikTok star with over 125,000 online followers for defaming her reputation, reports RTE.
In the Circuit Civil Court, Judge Roderick Maguire stated that Krystal Joyce, 20, of Glendhu, Ratoath Road, Dublin 15, had been a truthful witness who had been greatly agitated, especially when a female security guard pulled back a cubicle curtain in the changing room while she was partially dressed and trying on clothes.
“I find Ms Joyce was a truthful witness and was particularly upset because she has a social media presence through which she does her best to raise awareness for the Travelling community of which she is a member,” Judge Maguire said, reports RTE.
Barrister Esther Earley described to the court how Ms. Joyce would regularly go to stores and try on women’s clothing, taking pictures of it in the changing areas before recommending and promoting it to her TikTok followers and mentioning the stores in a complimentary manner where the items could be bought.
When Ms. Joyce heard a security officer repeatedly exclaim, “I am calling the guards,” in front of other people, she was taken aback, according to Ms. Earley, who appeared with Aisling Woods of Michael Kelleher Solicitors, James Street, Dublin, reports RTE.
When Ms. Joyce sought to leave the changing area because she was unhappy, security told her that she was not permitted to do so.
After a while, security and store employees let her out on the floor to begin “interrogating” her, reports RTE.
Judge Maguire noted that Ms. Joyce had complained about going through a traumatic experience where it was implied that she had committed a crime. She had provided proof that the curtain had been drawn.
Judge Maguire stated, “The plaintiff has given honest and forthright evidence,” In particular, he thought that Zara, the first defendant, had not presented any convincing evidence, and that one of the defence witnesses had not been trustworthy at all, reports RTE.
The judge stated that he found it extremely difficult to believe anything the witness said in court because of “glaring inconsistencies” after Ms. Earley’s cross-examination demonstrated evidence of a fabricated note detailing what had transpired at the time, reports RTE.
Judge Maguire determined that Zara’s and the security personnel’s acts were coordinated and amounted to a defamation of Ms. Joyce, which would diminish her in the eyes of the public.
“This was a public place she was used to frequenting and in the habit of trying on clothes,” he said. “I accept there were other people there, and I fully accept her evidence,” reports RTE.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
