The Abbey, a gay bar near West Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, has filed a lawsuit against comedian Haely White, who publicly accused his bartender of drugging her drink.
On August 3, White stated on social media that she was “seriously drugged by the bartender” during her visit to the monastery on July 29. The bar’s lawsuit alleges that she told her social media fans to “spread the news” and boycott the bar.
But according to reports, the security video of White’s July 29 visit showed that neither the monastery staff nor anyone else tampered with her drink, the bar said. The bar’s lawsuit alleges that even after asking White to review the video at the bar, she allegedly did not change her initial social media post, which has been shared several times online.
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According to Spectrum News, the comedian and the bar finally reached a settlement, exempting White from any responsibility, as long as she prominently posted a corrected statement on her various social media accounts before 4 pm local time on Saturday, August 14th.
However, the bar’s lawsuit alleges that she did not make a statement as promised. It also said that subsequent social media posts effectively withdrew her correction.
In her corrective statement, she mentioned that the bar denied that the two bottles used to make her drink had been tampered with in any way. She said the bar told her that the bottles had been used to make drinks for other customers. She added that the bar had not received other people claiming that their drinks contained the same ingredients.
White’s statement subsequently apologized for her inaccurate statements and prohibited employees from being negatively affected and threatened by these statements. “I believe their actions show that they care about the safety of their customers and take steps to ensure the safety of their premises,” she wrote.
However, after issuing the corrective statement, White reportedly issued a follow-up statement Instagram.
In the statement, she wrote that video footage from the bar also showed that she fell from her booth seat shortly after drinking and was helped out of the bar by a friend. She wrote that 15 minutes before entering the bar, she had a “completely coherent” telephone conversation with her husband. She also said that she had a drink at least an hour before drinking at The Abbey.
According to the report, she wrote: “I have never felt so uncomfortable in my life, with one exception-when I was covered by a roof many years ago…”.
The Abbey’s lawsuit accused White of defamation, trade defamation, breach of contract, and violation of the Good Faith and Fair Trading Convention. Because of what the bar called “significant” business losses and cancellations after her initial allegations, it seeks compensation in excess of $5 million.
Weekly newspaper Haely White and her manager were contacted for comments.
