Woman wins £16,000 payout after Zara staff opened curtain while she tried on clothes

An influencer has been awarded £16,000 after Zara staff pulled back a dressing room curtain as she was getting changed.

Krystal Joyce, 20, claimed she was left upset when a security guard opened up the cubicle at Ireland’s largest Zara store in Dublin while she was only partly dressed.

The Irish traveller and Tiktok star said she was then ‘interrogated’ by the staff member who implied she was a criminal while other shoppers watched.

The female security worker repeatedly said, ‘I am calling the guards,’ while stopping Krystal from leaving.

She was eventually permitted to go onto the shop floor, but security and shop staff continued to interrogate her.

A judge ordered Zara and the security company to pay her €20,000 in compensation, MailOnline reports.

Krystal’s barrister Esther Earley said she frequently filmed herself trying on outfits in changing rooms for her Tiktok content.

The Irish traveller and Tiktok star said she was then ‘interrogated’ by the staff member who implied she was a criminal while other shoppers watched

The female security worker repeatedly said, ‘I am calling the guards,’ while stopping Krystal from leaving

Judge Roderick Maguire said he found it difficult to accept anything said in court by the store witness due to the apparent ‘glaring inconsistencies’ in a note of the incident written by shop staff.

He added Krystal was a truthful witness, saying: ‘The plaintiff has given honest and forthright evidence.’

Judge Maguire said: ‘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.’

He concluded the actions of Zara and the security team constituted defamation.

Ms Joyce was awarded €10,000 damages against ITX Retail Limited, which operates the Zara store, and a further €10,000 against security company Bidvest Noonan (ROI) Limited.