Although Wyatt didn’t identify the 4 teenagers she accused of bullying her daughter, their names and different details about them shortly surfaced within the replies to her posts, in addition to in different TikTok and Fb posts by her followers and supporters. Now the households of these 4 teenagers say they’re those being subjected to a vicious marketing campaign of harassment and threats, and so they’ve sued Wyatt for defamation and slander.
The saga is taking part in out on-line earlier than an viewers that reaches far past the 20,000 residents of Ocean Springs, illustrating how TikTok can put a nationwide highlight on an area tragedy in ways in which complicate the lives of these concerned. The case pits a grief-stricken mom’s proper to talk out towards the privateness and security of the kids she blames for her daughter’s loss of life.
On July 1, a choose in Jackson County Chancery Court docket granted an emergency injunction requiring Wyatt to briefly shut down her TikTok, Fb and different social media accounts “to guard the minor kids on this case.” The order was leaked and circulated broadly on-line regardless of the courtroom ordering all data sealed, as earlier reported by the Biloxi Solar-Herald.
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Outraged supporters of Wyatt have posted TikTok movies protesting her “silencing,” a few of which have been seen tons of of 1000’s of instances. The choose is scheduled to assessment the order in a listening to subsequent week.
That case is separate from the defamation lawsuit towards Wyatt, which the 4 teenagers’ households filed on July 2 within the county’s circuit courtroom. They are saying Wyatt in her TikTok movies invited her followers to study and reveal the names of the 4 teenagers, even after investigations by native police and a youth courtroom discovered no proof that they have been liable for Aubreigh Wyatt’s loss of life.
In a single notably emotional video, Wyatt confirmed herself stumbling on her daughter’s suicide notes to family members months after her loss of life. The household had beforehand thought Aubreigh didn’t depart a notice.
Some TikTok movies in regards to the case, which regularly embody hashtags equivalent to #LLAW (for Reside like Aubreigh Wyatt), have thousands and thousands of likes and tens of thousands and thousands of views on the platform.
Wyatt has began a GoFundMe for her authorized bills, bringing in additional than $95,000 from practically 4,000 donors as of Wednesday afternoon. She didn’t reply to requests for remark Wednesday, and an legal professional representing her declined to remark.
Wyatt has mentioned in TikTok movies that her objective is to shine a light-weight on teen psychological well being points. The plaintiffs accuse her of attempting to capitalize on the state of affairs for “clicks,” to develop her social media following and herald income.
Patrick Guild, the plaintiffs’ legal professional, mentioned he couldn’t touch upon the choose’s order as a result of the case was sealed by courtroom order, including that he was upset to see it posted on social media.
“What has occurred because of that’s that a variety of completely different theories, and I’ll say, false info has come out” as to the explanations for the order, Guild mentioned. He added that the accusations of bullying by his shoppers are “patently false” however have been “elevated to such a grand scale based mostly on Heather Wyatt’s variety of followers.”
“Because of this, my shoppers have been receiving threats that in my view will be construed as actual issues for his or her security,” he mentioned.
Razzan Nakhlawi contributed to this report.
In case you or somebody you understand wants assist, go to 988lifeline.org or name or textual content the Suicide & Disaster Lifeline at 988.
