Spain’s veteran singer and cultural icon Julio Iglesias on Friday rejected allegations of sexual abuse lodged against him by two women ex-employees, in a case that has dominated headlines.
“I deny having abused, coerced, or disrespected any woman. These accusations are absolutely false and deeply sadden me,” the 82-year-old wrote on his Instagram account.
Iglesias, one of the most successful Latin artists of all time, is a Grammy winner with more than 300 million records sold in a career spanning decades.
Two women — a domestic worker and a physiotherapist — allege they suffered sexual and other forms of abuse while working at Iglesias’s properties in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas in 2021.
Advocacy groups Women’s Link Worldwide and Amnesty International said a complaint filed with Spanish prosecutors on January 5 outlined alleged acts that could be considered “a crime of human trafficking for the purpose of forced labour” and “crimes against sexual freedom”.
Iglesias subjected them to “sexual harassment, regularly checked their mobile phones, restricted their ability to leave the home where they worked, and required them to work up to 16 hours a day without days off”, according to testimony collected by the two groups.
In his Instagram message, Iglesias wrote: “It is with profound sadness that I respond to the accusations made by two people who previously worked for me.”
“I have never felt such malice, but I still have the strength to let people know the whole truth and to defend my dignity against such a serious accusation,” he said, thanking the “so many dear people” who have sent him messages of support.
– Strong reactions –
The allegations against the beloved crooner have sparked strong reactions in Spain after being aired on Tuesday in a joint investigation by Spanish newspaper elDiario.es and US television network Univision.
Members of the leftist government have backed the complainants and demanded an investigation to establish the truth.
The head of the conservative opposition Popular Party, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, who is friends with Iglesias, told Telecinco television on Wednesday he was “very, very, very surprised” but urged against “speculating”.
Iglesias has publicly embraced a “Latin lover” image, especially in older interviews where he openly discussed his sexual appetite and romantic exploits.
Iglesias’s former manager Fernan Martinez told Telecinco that he was “very affectionate” and enjoyed “physical contact” but stressed he never saw the music icon “behave aggressively”.
Women’s Link Worldwide has said the complainants will testify at an unspecified date before Spanish prosecutors, who have up to a year to perform a preliminary investigation.
The complaint was submitted in Spain and not the Caribbean countries where the crimes allegedly took place because of Spanish legislation on gender-based violence and trafficking, the organisation added.
Advocates say the wave of claims against high-profile entertainment and music figures in recent years, driven by the #MeToo movement that rose to prominence in 2017, has exposed systemic abuse.
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