By now, most netizens would probably have heard of the drama involving the Kampong Glam Ramadan Bazaar vendor, Frank On Wheels, and the TikToker, @gunbuttock.
For those who have been living under a rock, here’s a quick summary: @gunbuttock, who posts “brutally honest” food reviews on his TikTok account, uploaded a video reviewing the food served at Frank On Wheels as part of his ongoing series in which he tries and rates various stalls across different Ramadan bazaars. @gunbuttock purchased the Cheesy Crab Fries with Turkey Bacon, priced at S$11.90— what made these fries stand out from other stalls was the fact that these were marketed as “the only smokey fries in Singapore”.
Instead of selling fries with a smokey flavour, Frank On Wheels served its fries with a tub of dry ice at the side, giving the food a “smokey” effect.
@gunbuttock described the dish as being “just basic fries with cheese sauce and the tiniest bit of crab stick on top”, and told viewers not to waste their money at the stall. He also criticised the fact that the “smokey” aspect of the fries was purely dry ice for aesthetics, and rated it 1 out of 10.
The owner of Frank On Wheels was not happy with the review, and proceeded to leave various comments on the video. Most notably, he remarked that @gunbuttock should have provided his feedback personally instead of posting his review online, and expressed his confusion at the TikToker calling the fries “basic”.
@gunbuttock then took screenshots of the comments and posted them as separate TikToks, further highlighting the comments to his audience.
Now this is where the story heats up: On 25 Mar, @gunbuttock posted a new TikTok detailing that the owner of Frank On Wheels had sent him a cease and desist letter, represented by ARLC Legal. The letter alleged that @gunbuttock had made a “defamatory and false statement” in his video regarding the stall, and stated that he had “accused” Frank On Wheels of “overcharging their customers” and “engaging in suspicious business practices”.
The letter also added that by posting his negative review online, @gunbuttock “posed a major threat” to the reputation of Frank On Wheels, and that his action had “incited hatred and made viral hate comments” towards the business.
The letter demanded for @gunbuttock to issue a public apology on his social media and to provide the legal team with a signed copy of the apology letter. If he failed to acknowledge or respond to the letter in 14 days, Frank On Wheels would allegedly “reserve the rights to proceed as necessary”, including commencing court proceedings.
In the last slide of the TikTok, @gunbuttock mentioned that he would get in touch with a lawyer in case he does get sued.
With all that being said, does Frank On Wheels actually have any legal ground to take action against @gunbuttock for his video?
In all honesty, none of us here at SETHLUI.com are lawyers who can comment on this. However, a 2019 article by Singapore Legal Advice stated that in order for a defamation claim to succeed in court, the business would need to “prove that the customer published an untrue fact that would tend to lower its reputation”.
It seems that the best course of action for @gunbuttock would be to engage the services of a lawyer. Regardless of what happens, the damage on Frank On Wheels has already been done, with thousands of comments online criticising the business for how it chose to handle the negative reviews.
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