Hailey Bieber recently sent a cease and desist letter to TikToker Julie Theis, claiming she has made "outrageous false, fabricated, and defamatory statements" about her marriage to Justin Bieber.
In the letter, dated Jan. 13 and obtained by TMZ, Hailey and Justin Bieber's attorney Evan Spiegel wrote that Theis has "manufactured a false defamatory narrative" about the Rhode founder and her marriage in videos posted on TikTok and Instagram.
"Your conduct is wrongful, highly damaging, actionable, and exposes you to substantial liability," the letter reads. "We demand that you immediately cease and desist from this wrongful and tortious conduct, and remove the Videos."
The letter cites a specific video in which Theis speaks about relationships working when the woman is a "tolerant codependent," meaning she "tolerates mediocrity, abuse, doing the majority of domestic and emotional labor." Theis goes on to say that there is "no better example" than Hailey and Justin Bieber.
"In the Videos, you assert that long-term romantic relationships 'only work' because women tolerate 'abuse,' among other alleged conduct, and you expressly identify Hailey Bieber and Justin Bieber as 'the best example' of this purported dynamic of abuse," the letter reads. "In furtherance of that ridiculous claim, you fabricate, and falsely characterize Mr. Bieber as an 'addict,' stating that 'an addictive partner is always an abusive partner.'"
Theis responded to the cease and desist letter on TikTok earlier today.
In a statement to TMZ, Theis expressed concern over Hailey and Justin Bieber trying to silence her free speech. "It's extremely elitist to try to silence opinions just because you disagree," she said. "Disagreement is not defamation."
