‘In the mouth of the people and in the hand of God’, says former employee fined after dancing on TikTok

Young Esmeralda Mello, 21, fined by the Labor Court after posting a dance on TikTok alongside witnesses in a lawsuit against the company she worked for, says she is making “lemon a lemonade” after the repercussion of the case.

In a new video in which she responds to her followers, Esmeralda uses a catchphrase attributed to lawyer Deolane Bezerra —”in the mouth of the people and in the hand of God”—to say how she is feeling. The answer is given in a comment that says she is not playing the victim.

“What am I going to do? Sit down and cry? As Deolane says: ‘in the mouth of the people and in the hand of God. The mother is blown away. Forget it”, he says.

In the last week, the young woman was the subject of several news after the disclosure of the case by the TRT-2 (Regional Labor Court of the 2nd Region), in São Paulo. In the video mocking the company, posted in November 2021, the caption reads “me and my friends going to sue the toxic company”.

The Justice understood that there was litigation in bad faith due to the proximity of the former employee with the witnesses. The post has over 100,000 views. Another video, posted three days ago, in which she jokes about ‘sudden fame’, has over 1 million views.

THE Sheet, Esmeralda says that she is extracting as many possibilities from the situation as possible. “I’m making lemonade out of lemons, I’m making the most out of it. I’m holding my head high, life goes on.”

She also says that she had no idea that the case would gain so much repercussion and defends herself. She claims that she was not friends with the witnesses and that she only wrote this in the caption because it is a very common term on TikTok. “Using the word friend is a common term on the internet.”

Esmeralda worked in a jewelry store in the southern area of ​​the capital of São Paulo for about a year, between the end of 2020 and the second half of 2021. After being fired, she sued the company, claiming that she spent a period without being registered and requesting registration. in portfolio, in addition to asking for moral damages for the treatment received at work.

According to the young woman’s lawyer, Jeferson Willms, the former seller won part of the lawsuit, but was ordered to pay a 2% fine to the Judiciary because of the video on TikTok and had the witness testimony cancelled. She will not, however, get the severance pay she had hoped for.

The company was also convicted in the process, says Willms, for having made a discrediting comment to the Labor Court and offending lawyers. The fine is just over R$ 400, as it is based on the value of the case of around R$ 22 thousand, and must be paid by Esmeralda and her friends.

According to lawyer Maurício Pepe De Lion, from Feslberg Advogados, more and more social networks, with posts such as videos and photographs, are being used as labor evidence. In addition, the young woman’s case would involve a practice that is reprehensible in court, of appointing close friends as witnesses in the process.

“The legislation in force today prohibits close friends and enemies from giving testimonies as witnesses. It was demonstrated that there was intimacy between them, which jeopardized the judge’s main function, which is to obtain the real truth”, he says.

Pepe De Lion advises employees and employers to behave on social media, not just because of ongoing lawsuits, but to avoid them. “Everyone has to have posture. This rule applies to both sides”, he says.

Esmeralda’s action has fully come to an end. Now, the only thing left for her is to try to negotiate the payment of the amounts. In general, according to her lawyer, guides are generated in the process and the young woman will have to settle them according to what is agreed.

The former saleswoman is still in the job market, but no longer in the jewelry sales area. Just graduated from high school, she says she intends to turn the situation into something good for her. “We lose here and win there.”