Former EastEnders star Katie Jarvis has been hit with a community order after it was revealed she shouted “black lives don’t matter” repeatedly in a row.
Jarvis was given a community order with 200 hours unpaid leave and 60 hours of rehab.
The actress, who played Hayley Slater in the soap, got into a row with a group of women outside a fish and chip restaurant in Southend-on-Sea at approximately 7.30pm on July 31, 2020.
She had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges but changed her plea last minute on the day of her trial.
Jarvis admitted racially aggravated harassment and common assault at Basildon Crown Court on Tuesday (April 19).
(Image: PA)
The court heard Jarvis shouted racist abuse in front of passersby including children who were walking along the seafront in Southend-on-Sea.
The altercation started at around 7.30pm at a fish and chip restaurant after Jarvis tried to take one of the chairs that the other party were going to use.
Jarvis then proceeded to row with four women after she was told she could not use the seat.
(Image: BBC / Jack Barnes)
The dispute lasted approximately 40 minutes before police got involved and arrested the actress.
The debate then escalated and Katie shouted “black lives don’t matter anyway” and “black c***s, I’m a celebrity.”
“She then repeated ‘black lives don’t matter’ and ‘black c***s’, it appears a fight a broke out between the party,” Cyrus Shroff, prosecuting, said.
Katie has denied physically assaulting anyone, Patrick Harte, her solicitor told the court.
Jarvis had previously pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault by beating during the incident, but one of these was laid on file, while the other received a not guilty verdict.
One of the women involved detailed how the fight left her feeling “disgusted and angry”.
She said: “There were children around, I couldn’t believe in 2020 this is still being said, it traumatised me and reminded me of growing up in the eighties in an estate in London.”
A member of the bar staff was also affected, as Shroff explained that the bar staff victim “was in the position to allow a child to use the toilet in the bar”, and Jarvis accepts “spitting at the ground but not in his direction.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
