TikToker says she was ‘manhandled’ at Chicago bar. Now bar sues her as threats pour ins
A Chicago bar is suing a woman who said she was “manhandled” and “shoved” down a flight of stairs while being escorted out of the downtown bar earlier this month.
She posted about her experience on TikTok, receiving 100,000 views as well as thousands of likes and comments, according to the lawsuit filed by Hubbard Inn. The full video has since been taken down.
The woman was asked to leave the downtown Chicago bar due to a “bad experience of her own making,” while at the bar the night of March 9 and into the morning of March 10, the lawsuit says.
Hubbard Inn declined to elaborate on the reason why the woman was asked to leave.
The TikToker said bar security staff were “dragging” her out of a bathroom and into a hallway, according to the lawsuit. She then said she was sent “flying down the staircase,” according a clip of the woman’s video posted to TikTok by the bar.
According to the woman’s attorneys, she was significantly injured during the alleged incident, going to the hospital with a concussion and lacerations.
In response to the woman’s initial TikTok post, Hubbard Inn posted a video addressing the allegations. The video shows security footage of the woman being escorted out of the establishment by security personnel.
The footage posted by the bar does not show the woman being physically handled by staff.
The bar denied allegations that the woman was thrown down the staircase. Security footage posted to TikTok showed a security guard walking behind the woman down a flight of stairs, holding a flashlight to guide her through the dark bar.
However, the woman’s attorneys say the video projects a “misleading narrative” and that there was a two-minute gap in the security footage posted, according to a statement posted to TikTok.
“What Hubbard Inn fails to mention in its self-serving post is that the area where Ms. Reel suffered her injuries was not videotaped.” according to the TikTok.
In the lawsuit, Hubbard Inn says that not every area of the establishment is covered by security cameras.
“Not surprisingly, Hubbard Inn’s security camera footage does not cover every square foot of the premises, or every second of Defendant’s exit from the premises,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit reiterates, “there is no security camera footage that supports Defendant’s false claims of assault.”
The bar says it has lost thousands of dollars in business and that their staff has received threats of violence as a result of the TikTok, according to the lawsuit filed March 18. The lawsuit filed against the woman accuses her of defamation.
Hubbard says it lost $30,000 in revenue as a result of cancellations, negative reviews and loss of reputation, according to the lawsuit.
“We are a small business and staff is family, which is why we had no choice but to take this step after they posted another video attacking our establishment,” Hubbard Inn said in a statement to McClatchy News.
The woman’s attorney declined to provide additional comments to McClatchy News.
However, the statement posted to TikTok said, “Respectfully, we urge the public to hold off on a rush judgment and/or victim shaming until all of the evidence is presented in a court of law.”
The case is scheduled to go to court on May 23.
This story was originally published March 20, 2024 at 4:00 PM with the headline "TikToker says she was ‘manhandled’ at Chicago bar. Now bar sues her as threats pour ins."
