LI Small Biz Owner Bullied Online: 'How Can People Be So Mean?'

HUNTINGTON, NY—Jacqueline Guzman, co-owner with her sister Cristal Guzman of a chocolate shop called Sister Sweets, took to social media this week to plead for an end to online harassment plaguing her and her small business. Social media users confused the 25-year-old Huntington resident with New York City-based actress Jacqueline Guzman, who went viral for criticizing the funeral of slain NYPD officer Jason Rivera last week.

Long Island's Guzman sisters also took to TikTok, in the wake of what they said were "very hateful messages" and even text messages on their personal phone numbers.

"We thought it was never going to stop. Every two seconds a message comes in," Cristal Guzman said in a TikTok video. People even organized boycotts of the sisters' home sweets business.

The sisters made a series of online videos explaining that Jacqueline Guzman is not the same person as the now-widely despised TikToker and decrying the viewpoints espoused in the viral video, explaining that they support the NYPD and that the online harassment was overwhelming.

Stories about Guzman's plight in the New York Post and other outlets helped stem some of the harassment, Cristal Guzman told Patch.

"It's gotten a lot better," she said.

"Right now it's a lot of people showing support and love. There are still a few people who aren't convinced and will message or comment but not anywhere the amount from the first two days."

Long Island's Jacqueline Guzman bears a slight resemblance to the actress who was ultimately fired from her job for her comments on TikTok. But Cristal Guzman, in one of her TikToks trying to clarify the confusion, pointed out, social media bullying played a large part.

"Just do your research. I know it's so easy to get carried away with something you may be passionate about."

"How can people be so mean," she wonders in the video.

The intended target of the backlash received by the Long Island small business owners went viral on Friday for her comments about late officer Rivera's funeral.

“We do not need to shut down most of Lower Manhattan because one cop died for probably doing his job incorrectly. They kill people who are under 22 every single day for no good reason and we don’t shut down the city for them,” Jacqueline Guzman, the Florida native and actress, said in the TikTok video she posted, that was widely condemned across TikTok and Twitter.

The video has since been deleted and the actress was fired from the independent film company she worked for.