BC man to pay $20K after tribunal rules party trick videos are intimate images

A BC man whose party trick is lifting women up to his shoulders and posting the footage to his Instagram account has been ordered to pay a woman $20,000.

The woman said she was drunk when Sherif Elbishlawi approached her outside a nightclub and asked if he could lift her up while his friend filmed it. The footage was posted on his social media accounts.

The woman agreed, but when the video captured her underwear and up her skirt, she asked Elbishlawi not to post it.

However, he ignored her request.

The woman, whose name is covered under a publication, then took Elbishlawi to the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal, arguing he’d shared an intimate image online without her consent.

In 2024, the province introduced Intimate Image Protection, allowing victims to sue for damages and have images removed in a more streamlined manner than going through the courts.

According to a July 9 BC Civil Resolution Tribunal decision, the woman argued for $35,000 in compensation for mental distress.

Sherif Elbishlawi has more than 100,000 followers on Instagram and dozens of videos of him asking seemingly drunk women out on the town if he can lift them up. He then posts the videos online.

The decision said the woman met Elbishlawi outside a nightclub when she was drunk and she agreed to be lifted up.

“During the videos, the (woman’s) skirt is moved and lifted in such a way that her underwear is exposed, and her buttocks are partially exposed. One of the videos also captures up (her) skirt,” the decision reads.

The videos were then posted to both Instagram and Facebook but were later removed by Meta.

Elbishlawi argued the woman consented to what took place, and he was unaware the videos were considered intimate images.

However, the Tribunal rejected the argument, noting he was aware Meta had taken them down.

The decision said the videos were up for a few days and viewed by 30,000 to 40,000 people.

In arguing for $35,000 compensation, the woman described “humiliation and embarrassment” that the videos of her were available to her friends who followed (Elbishlawi) on social media.

“(She) also says she felt anxiety about whether the videos would reappear and continually monitored (his) social media accounts,” the Tribunal said.

The woman did ask Elbishlawi not to post the videos, but he either ignored the request or asked to meet her, saying, “I don’t do favours for strangers.”

The Tribunal found Elbishlawi didn’t act out of malice but instead to get social media exposure. 

“While not motivated by an intent to cause harm, I find the possibly exploitive nature of this conduct troubling,” the Tribunal said, noting it’s not known whether the videos generated any revenue for him.

Elbishlawi has not apologized and maintains that he committed no wrongdoing, the decision said.

“I find (his) conduct likely exacerbated the harm… (she) experienced,” the Tribunal said.

The Tribunal noted that nearly all previous cases of sharing intimate images involve former partners weaponizing sexually explicit images by posting them or threatening to post them online.

This case is unique, and the Tribunal said that the less explicit nature of the videos would point to the lower end of the spectrum of intimate image abuse if the videos hadn’t received thousands of views.

The Tribunal ordered Elbishlawi to pay $10,000 in compensation plus $5,000 for aggravated damages because of his conduct.

“(His) conduct included reposting the videos after they were removed and asking the (woman) to meet him in exchange for removing the videos,” the Tribunal said. 

The Tribunal said Elbishlawi’s conduct was “deserving of rebuke and markedly departs from ordinary standards of decent behaviour,” and ordered a further $5,000 in punitive damages.

Ultimately, Elbishlawi’s decision to post the video and his refusal to take it down has cost him $20,000 plus fees and interest.