Sunday 15 May 2022 02:58 PM Mother who was called 'black c*** by Eastenders star Katie Jarvis says she is ... trends now
A mother-of-three who was called a 'black c***' and told 'black lives don't matter' by former Eastenders star Katie Jarvis during a drunken rant has said she is too stressed to work and is plagued by panic attacks.
Jarvis, 30, racially abused the woman after an argument broke out over a spare chair inside a fish and chip shop in Southend, Essex, on July 31, 2020.
The actress, who played Hayley Slater in the BBC soap from 2018 to 2019, then spat at a bouncer later the same evening when she was refused entry into a nightclub.
Michelle Antonio, a victim of the abuse that evening, says she now suffers panic attacks and flashbacks to racial insults from her childhood.
She had been enjoying a day out with her family at the seaside when Jarvis launched into the tirade over a spare chair at the fish and chip shop.
Ms Antonio, 49, told The Sunday Mirror: 'How can racism like this still be going on in the 2020s? You think things have changed, but nothing has.
'I’ve been sitting here stressing myself out for two years, I feel like I’ve been wasting my time.
Michelle Antonio (pictured) says she now suffers panic attacks and flashbacks to racial insults from her childhood following the incident with Jarvis
Katie Jarvis, who played Hayley Slater in Eastenders from 2018 to 2019, admitted racially-aggravated harassment of Ms Antonio and common assault in relation to spitting at the bouncer
She was sentenced to a two-year community order, ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and issued a requirement to complete 60 days of specified activities
Jarvis performing in her role as Hayley Slater in the BBC soap opera. She was working at B&M at the time of the incident
'Katie shouted “black lives don’t matter, I’m a celebrity – on and on and on. She called me and my daughters black c***s. I was so shaken up and angry, frustrated, upset, embarrassed.
'As the court case came up, I was getting panic attacks, feeling stressed, thinking ‘oh my God, I wish that we didn’t have to go through this’.
'I had to leave my work as a college student engagement officer, which I loved. Her sentence is a slap on the wrist. I thought she’d get something more than that.'
Jarvis was handed a two-year community order at Basildon Crown Court last month after admitting racially-aggravated harassment of Ms Antonio and common assault in relation to spitting at the bouncer.
She was also ordered to complete
