Two ex-employees of Julio Iglesias accusing him of “human trafficking” and “sexual” offenses will soon be heard by the courts, a case which tarnishes the image of the 82-year-old Spanish singer, who is preparing his defense to bring out the truth, according to him, reported the celebrity magazine Hola! Wednesday.
Between January and October 2021, this icon of Spanish cultural history “allegedly assaulted and sexually harassed” Laura and Rebeca (assumed first names), then aged 22 and 28, and also imposed abusive working conditions on them, explained in two similar press releases Women’s Link Worldwide and Amnesty International, which accompanied the two ex-employees.
The complaint filed on January 5 by the two women with the Spanish justice system notes in particular, the associations specify, “facts “likely to constitute an offense of trafficking in human beings with a view to imposing forced labor and servitude”, “attacks on sexual freedom and integrity such as sexual harassment”, as well as an offense of assault and battery and violations of labor rights”.
On Tuesday, judicial sources confirmed to AFP the filing of a complaint, without further details.
During a joint press conference on Wednesday, Women’s Link Worldwide and Amnesty International clarified that the two complainants would soon be heard by the Spanish courts, which “granted them the status of protected witnesses”.
The prosecution has up to one year to conduct the investigation and render its conclusions according to the associations.
The Spanish celebrity magazine Hola! wrote Wednesday that he spoke with Julio Iglesias, according to whom the truth will emerge and the situation will be clarified.
The media did not provide any direct quotes from the exchange with the singer, who said he was preparing his defense with his lawyers. Those around him have rejected the accusations and are in shock, according to the magazine.
“Other women”
“Other women claiming to have been employed” by Julio Iglesias have already “made contact” with the Women’s Link Worldwide association, assured its executive director, Javana Ríos Cisnero, without wanting to give more details at this stage.
On Tuesday, American television Univision and Spanish online media elDiario.es published a long investigation into the testimonies of Rebeca and Laura, the singer’s domestic worker and physiotherapist at the time of the events, which occurred in his residences in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.
The two women claim in particular to have been victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment on the part of the singer. One of them also described to the two media outlets facts that could be qualified as rape.
In the press release released by Women’s Link and Amnesty, Rebeca said she testified publicly and filed a complaint to obtain “justice” and serve as an example to the singer’s other employees: “I want to tell them to be strong, to speak out, to remember that he is not invincible. »
“My goal is to ensure that no woman ever suffers this kind of violence from him again,” explained Laura, the other complainant, who described Julio Iglesias in the journalistic investigation as “an old pervert.”
“Very surprised”
In Spain, where Julio Iglesias was a respected figure until the revelation of these accusations, the affair sparked strong reactions.
These accusations “are scary, they are terrifying”, judged on RTVE on Wednesday the Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, who “condemned” the facts.
Leader of the Popular Party (right, opposition), Alberto Nuñez Feijóo boasted in 2024 in Vanity Fair of speaking “every month” with Julio Iglesias, a “great Spaniard”.
On Wednesday, he said on the Telecinco channel, “very, very, very surprised”, referring to “very serious accusations”. “We need to stop speculating and focus on this investigation to find out what really happened,” he added.
The former manager of the musical icon, Fernán Martínez, described Wednesday on Telecinco a “very cuddly” man, who likes “physical contact”, while ensuring “that he never saw him adopt this type of aggressive behavior” described by the complainants.
Born in 1943, Julio Iglesias, performer of I haven’t changed, Poor devils (You women), Manuela, Come kiss me, saw his career take off in the 1970s to become the Spanish-speaking artist – and undoubtedly the Spaniard – having sold the most records in the world with hundreds of millions of albums sold.
