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Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister, Yolanda Díaz, has been sued before the Supreme Court by singer Julio Iglesias, who accuses her of “unlawful interference with his right to honour and privacy” after two former employees came forward in January with allegations of sexual abuse.
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Iglesias has asked the judge to order the Sumar leader to pay him €50,000 in compensation over remarks she made on her Bluesky account and on RTVE’s programme ‘La Hora de la 1’ at the start of the year, which he argues amounted to “unlawful interference with his right to honour”. The lawsuit also calls on the deputy prime minister to issue a public retraction.
According to Iglesias’s complaint, Díaz voiced “clear prejudices”, alleging that “sexual abuse was taking place in his home, that staff were kept in conditions akin to slavery and that their fundamental rights were systematically violated”.
The deputy prime minister had previously rejected a conciliation bid, arguing that her remarks had not harmed the artist’s reputation, prompting Iglesias to take the case to the Supreme Court through civil proceedings.
Iglesias has also filed a criminal complaint in a Madrid court against several journalists from Diario.es, the outlet that first reported the former employees’ allegations, accusing them of insult, slander and violating his moral integrity.
The singer’s defence argues that the publication’s editor, Ignacio Escolar, along with several of its reporters, published “false and defamatory” statements intended to “undermine” his public image.
In January, two women who had worked for the Spanish artist at his mansions in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and Lyford Cay, Bahamas, came forward alleging that Iglesias had sexually assaulted them.
The investigation, carried out by Diario.es in collaboration with Univisión over three years and based on additional testimonies and documents, alleges that one of the former employees was forced to have sexual encounters with the artist. She claims that during those encounters Iglesias slapped her and penetrated her without her consent.
Shortly after the allegations came to light, journalist Paloma García-Pelayo, who is known for her closeness to Iglesias, said the artist was “worried”, believing his image had “absolutely” collapsed. She added that he was living through the situation “as if he had been killed internationally because of his image.”
Ultimately, the National Court prosecutor’s office decided to shelve the proceedings against Iglesias over the alleged sexual assaults. The prosecutor’s office based its decision on the court’s “lack of jurisdiction” to hear the case, as the alleged incidents took place at the artist’s residences in the Caribbean.