With great power comes great responsibility, so one must always be careful of what they say, especially if their online presence has a huge following.
Local influencer Eira Aziera was recently ordered by the High Court of Johor Bahru to pay RM100,000 in damages and RM30,000 in legal costs to Suharnizan Md Sidek whom she had body shamed in a video she posted.
How a simple comment led to Eira’s demise
The incident had allegedly taken place on 18 August 2020 when Suharnizan left a comment on Eira’s live video, saying “Cooking live, eating live, promoting slimming products, can slim down?”
In response to her comment, the influencer made a video to get back at Suharnizan. In the video, she can be seen calling out the latter using her full name, insulting her for her weight and using various abusive and curse words to put down Suharnizan.
She compared Suharnizan’s body to that of a pig, calling her a ‘yellow pig’. And this was not even the worst thing she did!
Later on, she continued her assault by showing multiple photos of Suharnizan and her family, continuously talking about how Suharnizan left that comment on her live video because she was jealous and mad of the former’s figure.
“No wonder you’re mad about my figure! Because you’re not as blessed as me.”
Legal consequences for Eira
As a result, Suharnizan has filed a RM2 million lawsuit against Eira in October 2020 claiming that the influencer had insulted her physical appearance.
“I experienced stress, trauma and non-stop personal messages from strangers, apart from depression and emotional disturbance at my workplace. I then sought advice from my lawyer who suggested that I lodge a civil claim against the individual,” said Suharnizan.
“The court has also ordered her to post a clear and unconditional apology on all of her social media accounts. The apology posts must remain published for six months from the date of posting.”
“In addition, the court also ruled that Suharnizan (through her legal reps) had succeeded in proving her claim, after all the required elements were fulfilled,” lawyer Mohd Rasheed said in a statement.
Watch the full video here:
Isn’t it time that we stop giving these ‘influencers’ a platform to spew such negativity? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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