A judge Wednesday cited free-speech grounds in dismissing a lawsuit filed by a Koreatown plastic surgery and laser treatment center that alleged a social media influencer libeled and slandered the business on TikTok by suggesting the staff was rude and that customers should go elsewhere.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis granted Tina Kim’s anti-SLAPP motion, finding that Kim’s commentary was opinion and that a business such as the plaintiff, WAVE Plastic Surgery and Aesthetic Laser Center, cannot be the plaintiff in an invasion of privacy action.
Kim called the business a “horrible, horrible” place and added, “There’s so many places in Koreatown, and WAVE is definitely on the list to do not go and they actually treated me the worst than any place I’ve walked into,” the suit stated.
But Kim maintained that the three-minute, 16-second TikTok post was protected speech.
“Imagine a world where the late Anthony Bourdain faced a lawsuit for his online criticism and opinion of a cuisine he tried, filed by the owner of the establishment that served the cuisine, freedom of speech would be stifled, and the free flow of information could be hindered due to the fear of having to spend substantial amounts of money defending against such lawsuit,” Kim’s lawyers stated in their anti-SLAPP motion.
The state’s anti-SLAPP — Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation — law is intended to prevent people from using courts, and potential threats of a lawsuit, to intimidate those who are exercising their First Amendment rights.
The business sued Kim “simply because plaintiff and its owner, Dr. Peter Lee, did not appreciate what (Kim) had to say about the treatment she received during her visit to plaintiff’s facility,” the anti-SLAPP motion stated.
According to the suit filed Dec. 7, WAVE “provides a luxurious environment for patients desiring outstanding outpatient surgery” and the staff and providers “strive to provide cutting-edge and state-of-the-art technology and services for patients in the field of aesthetic and anti-aging plastic surgery.”
WAVE has industry-leading doctors who specialize in many surgical and non-surgical procedures and has offices in Los Angeles, Costa Mesa, Arcadia, Rowland Heights and San Francisco, according to the suit, which further stated that Kim has more than 86,000 TikTok followers and 4.5 million combined likes on all her TikTok posts.
The video at issue was posted Nov. 7 by Kim through her public account, @kdramalogic, and is titled “My review of walking into Wave Plastic Surgery Center in Koreatown L.A.” the suit states.
“I walked in, I walked towards the reception, none of them greeted me,” Kim said, according to the suit. “Nothing. Nothing. I walked back up towards the reception area and there (are) three girls there. One is, like, on the phone. The other one is kinda just talking, and I’m just standing there, and you would think one of the three girls would go, `Oh, hey, so can I help you, do you have an questions?’ Nothing, nothing.”
When Kim left the business, she made a disparaging remark to the front desk employees, made a thumbs-down gesture and identified herself as an influencer, the suit states.
New customer applications have dropped sharply at WAVE since the Kim video’s posting, according to the suit, which further alleged Kim intentionally published the video and its false statements with the malicious intent to drive business and customers away from WAVE and toward the plaintiff’s competitors.
In a sworn declaration in support of her dismissal motion, Kim said she has appeared worldwide as a comedian and that she posts “various fun and entertaining video reviews on my TikTok page from topics ranging from Korean Pop music, to Kdramas, places to get cheap eats, where to get your haircut, facials and other face work done in Koreatown, where I live, and in Seoul Korea as part my TikTok postings.”
Kim says she also often visits plastic surgery facilities in Los Angeles and Korea and posts videos on her TikTok page about her experiences because “people love knowing about Botox and the latest face laser treatments and facials.”
Kim further said she had a previous unpleasant customer service experience with WAVE and decided to give them another chance when she was in the area on Nov. 7 after leaving a bank.
“WAVE had no customers inside and it was dead silent when I entered its lobby,” Kim says. “When I walked in, there were three individuals sitting behind the front desk. None of these individuals greeted me or even acknowledged my presence. I also found the information they list online about them being a luxury outpatient surgery service, acceptance of walk-ins and the quality in which they treat clients to be far from the truth and misleading.”
Kim says she waited for what seemed like 15 minutes to be acknowledged.
“All of them could clearly see me standing there and all three just ignored me as I stood a few feet away,” Kim said. “I have never been treated so poorly at any face clinic and as I was at the door, I turned around and told them they’re getting a bad review and that I am influencer, to which they still ignored me. They treated me as if I didn’t even exist.”