A Chicago influencer has been spectacularly exposed as a liar after she tried to destroy a mom-and-pop restaurant with false claims.
Julia Reel, 22, saw six of her seven claims against the Windy City’s Hubbard Inn dismissed by a judge this week.
The ruling specifically stated she’d lied about being manhandled out of the business by a bouncer during a March visit.
The influencer, who tried to destroy the business with a subsequent post, will still be allowed to pursue claims that she was injured by the bouncer.
Video shared by the Hubbard Inn rubbished Reel’s claims that she was manhandled and shoved out of the restaurant, with the bouncer seen guiding her off the property without touching her.
Reel sued the Hubbard Inn seeking damages for alleged injuries including a concussion and significant bruises she claimed she suffered in the confrontation.
The restaurant subsequently counter-sued Reel for defamation and claimed her TikTok video led to losses of over $30,000.
The Hubbard Inn said in a statement after the ruling that it is ‘pleased the court saw our side in rejecting Ms. Reel’s baseless claims.
‘After enduring months of smears on social media, we’re thankful the court recognized the majority of the claims for what they are – rubbish.’
TikToker Julia Reel claimed in a video earlier this year that she was ‘manhandled’ and shoved down the stairs of Chicago’s Hubbard Inn on a night out, before the restaurant countered with surveillance footage of how the situation actually unfolded
Although Reel deleted her TikTok allegations, the Hubbard Inn shared its own viral response to her video that received over 9.9 million views.
In the response video, the restaurant showed snippets of Reel’s claims alongside surveillance footage of her encounter with the bouncer, starting with her claims of being ‘manhandled’ out of a bathroom.
Although Reel claimed the security guard grabbed her and her friend before she was ‘given a chance to walk out on our own’, the surveillance showed the bouncer walking next to her without touching her.
‘I’m immediately grabbed by this man and he’s grabbing my arm, he’s pushing me, he’s manhandling me, and what is going on?’ Reel is seen claiming in her TikTok.
The Hubbard Inn captioned over footage proving the claim was a lie: ‘Below is footage of Ms. Reel safely being escorted from the bathroom hallway to the exit stairs.’
Reel then escalated her allegations, claiming the bouncer shoved her down the stairs of the restaurant and ‘sent me flying.’
In surveillance footage showing the staircase, Reel and her friend were seen walking down the stairs without ever being pushed as the bouncer guides them to the front exit with a flashlight.
After showing the vindicating surveillance footage, the Hubbard Inn followed up with Reel’s description of the so-called ‘incident.’
‘It was the craziest experience I’ve ever been in,’ she claimed. ‘It was completely and utterly ridiculous how much it escalated.’
Although the footage showed Reel and her friend leaving the front door, the TikToker claimed through her attorneys that the restaurant’s surveillance did not pick up the entire interaction.
Reel alleged that the bouncer grabbed her by the arm and ‘manhandled’ her from the bathroom, before the restaurant produced surveillance footage showing her walking side by side with the security guard without him touching her
Reel’s allegations over being shoved down the stairs were mocked on social media after the restaurant showed footage of her calmly walking down the stairs and leaving
The TikToker maintained her side of the story and claimed through her attorneys that the restaurant’s surveillance did not pick up the entire interaction
The Hubbard Inn said Reel’s TikTok triggered a wave of negative reviews and hateful messages directed at staff.
In Reel’s original lawsuit, she accused the restaurant ant the bouncer, who is not named, of battery, inflicting emotional distress, defamation and false light, reports the Chicago Sun Times.
On Wednesday, Cook County Judge Patrick Sherlock dismissed six of the seven claims, but allowed a single allegation of battery against the restaurant to continue in the courts.
Sherlock dismissed some claims as the bouncer was not named, and others due to a lack of evidence to support Reel’s allegations.
The judge wrote: ‘(Reel) has failed to provide any allegations that would lead to a finding that the bouncer’s conduct was extreme and outrageous for which [Hubbard Inn] can be held liable.’
‘By no means did [Hubbard Inn] make any insults or call [Reel] a liar, as [Reel] alleges. Additionally, although [Reel] claims [Hubbard Inn] acted with actual malice, the statements made by [Hubbard Inn] do not support malicious intent but rather a means by which to remediate the damage [Hubbard Inn] faced as a result of [Reel’s] original TikTok video.’
The Hubbard Inn’s own defamation lawsuit against Reel was also allowed to continue in the ruling.
In her own statement after the ruling, Reel said through her attorney: ‘We are quite pleased that the Court is allowing the lawsuit to proceed, including the uncontested claim about the harm that was done to Ms. Reel.
‘We are also pleased that the Court rules create an opportunity to revisit some of the other claims now or in the future.
‘As we all anticipated, this is going to be a long and difficult lawsuit, which will invariably go to the very end. Ms. Reel is prepared and ready for the battle against the Hubbard Inn.’
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