The influencer took action against Zara for defamation
An influencer has won £16,000 after staff at Zara opened the dressing room curtain while she was trying on clothes.
Krystal Joyce claims she was left upset when a security guard opened up the cubicle she was in at Ireland’s flagship Zara store in Dublin.
The 20-year-old said she was only partly dressed when she was then ‘interrogated’ by the staff members, as she claims she was made out to be a criminal.
She told a court that the female security worker stopped her from leaving and repeatedly told her: “I am calling the guards.”
Effectively held hostage in the Zara, the Irish traveller claimed she was a victim of defamation.
Joyce claimed it was implied, within earshot and sight of others in the clothing store, that she had been ‘engaged in criminal activity’, reports Daily Mail.
And, she said, this interrogation continued from security and shop staff before she was eventually allowed to go onto the shop floor in Blanchardstown shopping centre.
The TikToker, with over 122,000 followers, won her case as a judge agreed she had been wronged, ordering Zara bosses and their security company to pay her 20,000 euros (£16,647) in damages.
Joyce’s barrister, Esther Earley, said the woman often filmed herself trying on different outfits in store changing rooms as part of her TikTok content. She added that the influencer would then promote and recommend the clothes, pointing out where the items could be bought by her followers.
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Judge Roderick Maguire said he found it very difficult to accept anything said in court by the store witness due to the apparent ‘glaring inconsistencies’ in evidence.
Earley suggested during her cross-examination that a note of the incidence written by Zara staff had been ‘falsified’.
Judge Maguire described Joyce as a truthful witness and said: “The plaintiff has given honest and forthright evidence.”
He ruled that the influencer had experienced significant upset due to the staff’s actions, particularly with the curtain being pulled open.
He added: “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 concluded Zara and the security team’s actions constituted defamation.
Joyce was awarded 10,000 euros (£8,324) damages against ITX Retail Limited (which operates the Zara store) and 10,000 euros against security company Bidvest Noonan (ROI) Limited.
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